What future may bring
by annaa19
Summary: Sets after x-3. Basically some people come back, and what does a sexy cajun has to do with Magneto's new plan to get rid of humans? please, be nice. It's my first fic ever. It's a general fic, but lot's of Romy cause i love it! plz review :D
1. Surprises

_**This story sets after X-3 events.**_

2 months after Jean Grey's death.

The doorbell rings and Ororo Munroe runs to open it, knowing the kids at the mansion won't move a muscle.

She opens the door and nearly faints at what she sees.

"Good evening, Ororo." The person in the doorway says calmly.

"For the goddess! I-I …this must be a…" She tries to speak but is too nervous to find the words.

"This is real, dear. May I come in? It's rather cold out here."

Finally Ororo breaks into tears and holds the professor in front of her. All the people in the mansion still had a fresh memory of the day when he died and the day of his funeral. For all of them, it was like losing their direction and inspiration, but more than that, it was like losing a father. Now, he was there on the doorway like he had only spent some time traveling.

"How is this possible Charles?" Ororo asks him in a whisper, her hands still on his as if trying not to let go of an illusion.

"Let's go into my office and I'll explain all of it. Please ask Logan, Hank, Rogue, Bobby, Kitty, and Piotr to come."

Ororo nodded, took the Professor to his office, and went to call the others. _'Thank God it's a Saturday night and most of the kids are out!'_ she thought. The goddess calls the other X-Men, still feeling slightly dizzy, but does not tell them what it is about.

"So, 'Ro, I hope this is important. I was 'bout to go out." Logan says while coming into the office. He suddenly stops and his eyes grow wide. "It can't be! That smell…No, it can't be!"

"Can't be what, Logan?" Rogue asks, kind of worried about the look on his face.

"Yes Logan, it's me." Charles says with a smile, coming out of a dark corner.

All the people in the room stare in shock. They all start talking at the same time, but finally managed to get quiet and listen to what the Professor had to say. He then explained that right after what happened in Jean's house his psyche went into the astral plane, and after wandering, he finally was able to find an appropriate body to get his mind in. He chose a man in a deep coma at the hospital of his friend, Dr. Moira McTaggert.

"There, I was able to grow my powers stronger again and contact an old friend of mine that lives very far away. Of course, it was only possible because we have a very deep telepathic connection."

"Who is this person, Charles?" Hank asked.

"Her name is Lilandra. She is the queen of a very advanced space race called Shiar."

"You mean she is an alien?" All of them asked in surprise.

Charles chuckled a bit.

"I thought nothing more could startle you…but yes, she is. And a very good friend. As soon as I told her about the facts, she came to see me and promised she would give me my body back. You see, their technology is extremely advanced and they soon found a way to close my body, so my mind could come back to it. Too bad I still can't move my legs." He joked, but instead of laughing, all the X-men stared in shock.

Beast was the first to break the silence.

"Charles, you can't imagine how amazing it is to have you back." He hugged him.

"I'm glad I'm back too, Hank."

"We, like, missed you so much Professor!" Kitty squealed with a huge smile. All of them greeted Xavier, some crying, some smiling, some still surprised. The only one to keep a distance was Rogue.

"Rogue, I'm not scared of holding you, so you shouldn't be either." He said, reading what her mind was almost screaming. After her powers suddenly came back when she was about to have her first night with Bobby, she decided to keep a safe distance from people. It nearly ended badly, just like with Cody, and she felt guilty about it, blaming herself and her vampire powers. Her dark behavior was seriously affecting her relationship with Bobby and the other people around her.

But right now, her face lit up and she hugged the man who was a father to her and whom she missed so much.

"Ah'm sorry, professor. Ah just don't wanna hurt ya."

"It's ok, my dear. And you don't have to worry about hurting me."

Rogue smiled and went back to Bobby's side.

That night and the following morning were the happiest times in months. During the week, some students who had left the Institute came back. But better news was yet to come. The professor was finally able to locate Scott's mind, placed in a coma in a Canadian hospital. Apparently, the Phoenix had tried to hide him, but after she was gone, the mental shield disappeared.

Storm, Beast, and Wolverine went to pick him up using the Blackbird. After they put him on med lab and made sure his vitals were ok, the professor woke him up. After learning everything that happened while he was in a coma, Scott was both relieved and miserable. The X-men were able to stop Magneto and the Phoenix, but his love was gone forever. What would the future bring after all these facts?


	2. Bumping onto fate

One month later, Rogue, Bobby, Kitty, Jubilee, and Piotr were at the mall. Jubilee dragged them there because of a huge clothes sale and a great diamonds exposition. Her exact words were: diamonds and clothes are a girl's best friends.

"So, Ah'm really not in the mood for clothes shopping. Can't we split up in to groups?" Rogue thought to herself that having Kitty and Jubilee screaming and fighting over clothes wasn't much entertaining.

"Yeah, we could do that, but you'll miss all the fun." Jubilee said.

"Ah don't mind." Rogue shrugged.

"Ok, Kitty and I will have a look at the shoes stores."

"Kitty, aren't you coming to the cd store with me?" Bobby asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Let's go then!" Kitty smiled. She looked to Piotr but felt too embarrassed to ask him to join them as well.

"Wait. Bobby, aren't ya staying with me?" Rogue asked.

"Oh, hm. Sorry Rogue, I promised we would check out a new cd."

Rogue lowered her head a bit but then sighed and said, "Fahne then." And she left.

She was tired of her boyfriend behaving like there was nothing to be jealous of. He was always looking for an excuse to be around Kitty. It was getting on her nerves, but at the same time, she sadly thought he deserved better than herself. But whenever she tried to say that to Bobby, he insisted Kitty was just a friend, and they started to argue. She sighed, knowing what she should do. Still, she didn't want to be even more isolated.

Meanwhile, at the diamonds exposition, a man kept walking between the display glasses. His face was covered with a hat and a long trench coat covered most of his body. He looked carefully at the security guards while preparing his plan. When he took this job, he had gotten a detailed map of all the alarms. Now all he had to do was to place this little special device in the right diamond glass to shut down the whole system.

"Dere ya' go, p'tite." He whispered in a thick Cajun accent.

He gave a sexy smirk and then called someone with his mobile.

"We are ready t' go."

In less than seconds, sounds of screaming came from the other side of the mall. Huge fire birds flew above people's heads, making everyone hysterical. Suddenly, everyone was running towards the exposition, and a big confusion started, just as planned.

The trench coat man grabbed a medium size blue diamond. It sparkled a bright light before being put in a black bag, which he put in his pocket. He turned, and with a grin across his face started running in the middle of the crowd.

_5 minutes before in another part of the mall:_

"Pete, what you think of these yellow ones?" Jubilee asked while holding a pair of shoes in her hand. Piotr sighed and said it was ok. "You know, you should cheer up. It's not like Kitty is dating him or something. After all, Bobby is with Rogue."

The Russian boy blushed deeply and whispered something she couldn't understand. Jubilee shook her head and got in line to pay her shoes. They waited for a while until a big mess started outside. "I think they just announced a big discount…damn, I'm still in here!" The girl thought to herself.

"Jubilee, we have to go!" Piotr grabbed her by her arm and easily took her outside while she tried to resist with no success at all.

"Hey, my shoes!"

"Bobby, Kitty, Rogue, come to the north part of the mall. We have a big problem." He said into his arm communicator. It was something they got used to taking whenever they went out, since they became X-men.

They got out of the store only to find a familiar face, laughing maniacally in the middle of the crowd.

"What the…?" Bobby said when he came running to Piotr's side, along with Kitty. "Pyro!"

"Ohhhh, things are about to get entertaining! The X-Babies are here!" Pyro screamed after turning around to face them.

"Yeah, I remember the 'X-Babies' kicking your butt last time, 'mate'." Bobby mocked while turning into his ice form. Pyro stared at him madly and the flames around him became bigger.

"Let's see what happens this time…" Pyro snarled, sending big fire birds in their direction.

The trench coat guy went inside a broom closet and away from the crowd. He took the diamond from his pocket and smiled. His eyes were shining a red light when he looked into it. He then removed his hat and ran his fingers through his wavy auburn hair to remove it from his eyes. The man was tall with a lean and strong body. He threw the diamond in the air and picked it up with an agile movement of his hands. With a quick look outside the door, he got out quickly and suddenly bumped into someone who was running in the opposite direction.

The girl fell sitting on the floor and looked up in surprise.

Rogue had never seen such a handsome man. She forgot to stand up and only realized her mouth was open when the man gave her a slight grin and offered his hand. She grabbed it and he pulled her up a bit too strong, nearly making her bump into his chest. She was able to keep her balance and looked up into his eyes. Red on black eyes. That caused her heart skip a beat.

"Sorry 'bout dat, chérie." He said in a husky voice, making her feel like something cold was going down her spine. He noticed that and it made him quickly interested in flirting a bit before getting his job done. No one would catch him anyway. He leaned a bit closer and removed a lock of white hair from her face. _'Such a belle face.'_ Was what came to his mind.

What he didn't expect was that she would suddenly move away when he made his move. From the look in her eyes, he could tell she was strangely scared or surprised that he got so close. _'Now dat's new'. _He frowned and asked: "Are ya' alright?"

Rogue was still tense that he had gotten so close to touch her and sighed.

"Ye-yeah, Ah guess."

It was the first time in months someone got that close to her without hesitating at least a little bit. _'But after all, he doesn't know, does he?'_ Her eyes got sad for a moment and this got the man even more intrigued. Never had a girl been scared or sad in his presence. Maybe nervous, but not scared.

"_Rogue, where are you? We need some help in here!_" Bobby's voice through the communicator snapped her out of the trance, and she shook her head as if trying to wake up.

"Um, sorry for bumpin' into ya." She said in a hurry, and then went out running.

"But why is she runnin' fo' de mess?" The thief thought, confused.

He stood there for a few seconds and then ran to the exit of the mall, carrying the diamond in his pocket, with a name in his mind.

_'Rogue.'_ He thought with a smile.


	3. Fights and Thoughts

Unfortunately, I do not own the X-men! Too bad or Gambit would be in all the movies and kick Iceman's bootie.

I added the Brotherhood to this fic because I just love them as well! I hope you like it. Please send me some feedback. Remember it's my first fic and I'm doing my best to improve each chap. =) Thanks.

Unfortunately for the younger X-men, Pyro wasn't alone. It seemed that Magneto had expected some resistance to that attack and sent other mutants they hadn't seen before to help. Soon, the X-men found out which each of their powers was and in a very painful way. A huge fat man called Blob by his colleagues was incredibly strong, even for Piotr, and extremely resistant to physical attacks. A girl who called herself the Scarlet Witch and seemed to be around 21 or 22 years old shot some powerful energy blasts through her hands and was also able to stop Shadowcat from phasing through things. With that, she became a very easy target and soon got knocked out, leaving only Bobby, Piotr and Jubilee trying to prevent the mess from getting bigger. But they were having lots of trouble since they were outnumbered after two more Magneto recruits arrived: Avalanche and the Scarlet Witch's twin brother, Quicksilver.

Piotr desperately tried to prevent huge amounts of ceiling pieces from falling onto Kitty's unconscious body, while at the same time trying to hit Quicksilver, who kept running at an extreme speed around him and making it hard for him to concentrate. Avalanche hit his foot on the floor and caused a seismic wave to go into Bobby's direction.

"Bobby, look out!" Jubilee screamed and he was able to jump out of the way in time.

She used her bright firecrackers in Avalanche's direction and he screamed, not being able to see anything, and so not risking using his powers in case he would hit one of his colleagues. That was just when Rogue arrived and she took that opportunity to drain Avalanche. He tried to fight back for a while, but Rogue kept holding his arm tightly. As he fell to the ground, Rogue ran to her friend's side, trying to dodge the Scarlet Witch's blasts of energy. Piotr was finally able to leave Kitty's side and run into Blob's direction at full speed (which wasn't too much because he was heavy, but was enough to cause quite the impact). If it had been only about strength, Blob would have still stood but Piotr was smart enough to hit his metal head on Blob's forehead. That easily knocked him out. Suddenly Quicksilver, whose name was Pietro, started running around Colossus even faster than before. The fast movements made something like a hurricane appear over Colossus, but that didn't work out as expected for Quicksilver. Colossus was too heavy and the wind didn't get him to move an inch. The Russian saw in those movements the opportunity to take him down. He extended his arm and in less than zero point one second, Pietro collided with it and fell to the ground trying to catch his breath. Colossus pulled him up by his uniform and stared at him angrily.

"Can't-we-talk-about-this?" Pietro asked in a rush. Colossus then threw him right in his sister's direction, causing her to accidentally hit him with one of her blasts, which was meant to hit Rogue.

Pyro had been fighting Icemen, fire against ice. Bobby had been having some trouble because he always had to keep an eye on Avalanche's seismic waves. When he was about to have even more trouble with a fire eagle flying down in his direction, Rogue did to Pyro exactly what Avalanche had tried on Bobby before. A huge opening on the floor made Pyro fall and the eagle disappeared right before it hit Bobby. He opened his eyes and looked around.

"Thanks!" He sighed in relief, turning to Rogue.

"No worries, sugah." She winked at him.

Pyro took this opportunity and ran to the Scarlet Witch's side. He looked at her, worried that only 3 of them were left. She nodded before he could say anything and suddenly the whole mall structure started to shake as if it was about to melt. The X-men knew there was no way to escape if it fell over them, except for Piotr who wouldn't get hurt. Right when she made a move to close her hands and make the fight end, Pyro's mobile received a message. He whispered to the girl by his side. "Let's go! It's done. Forget about these losers."

"Seems you got luck, after all." She said to the X-men and only made a column fall between them so they could escape. The X-men could barely see a thing with all the dust and they started coughing. The Scarlet Witch, whose real name was Wanda, woke up Blob with a small blast on his chest, causing him to gasp for air.

"Why the hell did you do that?" He frowned and scratched his head, looking kind of dumb.

"I had to wake you up, fat pudding. Now get up and get my brother and Lance. Seems that girl with white stripes in her hair did something to him."

"Her name is Rogue. She absorbs people's vital energy and powers." Pyro said, remembering his ex-friend's powers.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go, now! We've wasted too much time in here."

The group, which called itself the Brotherhood of Mutants, walked away.

"Is everyone ok?" Piotr asked, checking on Kitty who was still knocked out.

"Yeah, I guess." Bobby answered.

"No, we are NOT! My shoes!" Jubilee cried out as if she had just lost her arms or something. Rogue chuckled a bit but then became serious.

"What was this all about? Why did they leave when they got the chance to finish us?" She looked concerned at the destroyed mall and wondered why they had suddenly left after such a mess.

"I don't know, but we got to get out of here before the cops arrive. I don't want to get blamed for something I did not do, and since we are mutants, I bet they won't even bother to listen to what happened. Let's go." Bobby said in a hurry.

They ran to the closest exit, Piotr carrying a tiny Kitty Pryde in his arms. As soon as they got into the car, they heard to cops arrive at the mall.

"Rogue, call the mansion and tell the Professor what happened." Bobby said in an annoying tone that reminded her of Scott.

"Please…" She whispered sarcastically while grabbing her mobile. Logan answered the phone and, sensing the tension in her voice, demanded to know what happened. She explained to him and asked him to tell the Professor about it.

"I told you to talk to Xavier, not to Logan." Bobby said.

"Bobby, will ya shut up? Ya are not the team leader or somethin'. Logan is capable of talking to the professor about it and it's not lahke it will make much difference. We will have ta' explain everything again when we get to the mansion anyways. So cut the crap, will ya?" She said while angrily rolling her eyes.

Lately, due to the absence of Scott as the team leader, Bobby was behaving in a quite annoying way towards the other new joint X-men just because he was the one who had spent more time at the mansion among them. That usually didn't happen when Storm or Wolverine were around on the team. But when only the youngest were alone in Danger room sessions he took the title of leader to himself without even bothering to ask what the others thought about it. Piotr didn't get angry about it because he thought it wasn't a big deal being a leader or not, as long as that kept the team working together. Jubilee just didn't give a damn about it, she always did everything according to her own rules and Bobby wouldn't make her change that. Kitty thought it was kind of cute when he behaved like Mr. Summers, but Rogue just couldn't take it. Maybe because he was her boyfriend and acted like she, more than the others, should follow what he said. Or maybe because she just hated taking orders like she was a little kid. She respected when older people such as Xavier, Hank, Ororo, or Logan gave her orders or advices.

'_But c'mon, Bobby isn't even 2 years older than me. Who does he think he is?'_ She thought.

When they got to the mansion, Hank was waiting outside to take Kitty to the Med Lab.

"The Professor wants to talk to you." He said while taking Kitty in his arms.

"Told ya." Rogue glared at Bobby.

They went into Xavier's office and the older X-men were already standing there. Xavier sat behind his desk with a concerned look in his face.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, we are, Professor." Piotr said politely.

"Great. I hope Katherine will wake up soon. Hank will take care of her. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

They all started talking at the same time.

"Wait, wait. Piotr, could you start please?"

"Sure." He then told everything that happened from the moment they saw Pyro start the confusion. When he finished, Xavier only stared at his hands in deep thought.

"Why did they leave? From what you said, the chick could have destroyed that whole part of the mall." Logan asked and they just shrugged.

"That's what I was thinking, Logan. That made no sense at all, unless…" Xavier stopped for a while and thought a bit more.

"Unless…?" Scott looked at him.

"Unless…they did that to divert our attention from something else. But what?"

"Or maybe they just did that to cause trouble, Chuck." Logan was used to teenagers' behavior and that seemed just like another 'look-at-me-I-am-rebel' moment.

"I don't think so. They wouldn't have gone away so suddenly then. And from what Piotr told us, the way they fought, it was like they were trying to keep you busy for a while."

"Hm, but what you think they were trying to hide?" Ororo asked, trying to think of possibilities.

"I don't know, but Magneto sent them there for a reason. I need to take a close look at the facts. A friend of mine works for the Justice and maybe he will be able to give me some information about what the police found out. They must have the security cameras videos and that will help a lot."

"It's just too strange that all these people went there, started trouble, and left for no reason. It must have been something really important and that took a long time. Apparently, they only left when they made sure whatever they had to hide was done." Scott said thoughtfully.

Later on that day, many of the students in the institute were watching TV until something interesting appeared on the news. They were talking about what happened on the mall and how, mysteriously, during a mutant terrorist attack, one of the most precious diamonds at the exposition disappeared. That caught Xavier's attention and he called the X-men to his office again that night.

"I hope all of you here connected things. That's what Magneto was looking for: the African Blue Giant, a very special type of diamond. It is said that it can maximize energy at a great level. I just don't know why or how he would use that to his purposes. I contacted my friend and he said they couldn't get the security videos because for some reason it seemed to have suffered from some static interference. They couldn't catch on tape whoever stole the diamond and how this person did it. Also, no one saw who did it because the alarms didn't go off. That's what the mess was for, so everyone would be too busy running or trying to stop the attack."

"That was smart of Magneto, but not subtle at all." Hank said shaking his head. "Someone could've been hurt or even killed!"

"Well, he never really gave a crap about that, did he?" Logan said. "It's not like he would evacuate the whole mall before attacking it. That'd be nonsense."

"Now I think the most important thing is to find out why he wanted that diamond." Xavier interrupted. All of them looked at each other and started thinking, but none of them had a clue. The only thing that they knew is that the diamond could produce lots of energy, but that could be used for many things.

"I got an idea." Charles said. "Hank could try to study what kind of energy that diamond produces so we could get an idea of how powerful it is, and how that could be useful for Erik."

"How will I do that if I've never seen that stone before?"

"Simple. We'll get a stone with similar properties. Coincidence or not, I once bought one of those diamonds in a auction because its properties always intrigued me, though it happened to be much smaller than the African Blue Giant. The problem is I never got the chance to study it, first because I didn't have the technology required, and second because I got so busy with mutant problems I ended up forgetting about it, to be honest. But now I think it's time we find out what's the mystery behind this diamond.

"That'd be an honor, Charles. Studying such a special and rare diamond!" Hank's eyes were sparkling with delight. "Can we start right now?"

"Sure." Xavier smiled.

This chap was nice to write, and the next one will be even nicer because Remy is finally officially making his debut.


	4. Problems and solvings

The Brotherhood arrived at its hideout in New York outskirts just to find a shiny Harley Davidson already parked outside.

"I don't get why we have to stick with this stupid jeep while _he_ has a bike for himself!" John, aka Pyro, murmured to himself. "It's not fair at all. I mean, what does he do? Nothing."

"I like the jeep." Lance, aka Avalanche, said this as if he himself had been insulted and not the car.

"Then keep it to yourself! Suits ya, mate." John shot back.

"Will you two shut the heck up? I wouldn't mind the jeep if I could be alone in it." Wanda pushed the door open after entering a code. "It's already bad enough I work for my _dad…_" She whispered the word in a disgusted tone. Since Magneto got her out of the psychiatric hospital, she owed him but it didn't mean she was happy there. At least he got someone to help her control her powers. She turned on the lights of the living room and found Magneto sitting there with a blue diamond in his hands.

"Well done. It was a very good team work, even for the first time." He said with a proud smile to his new mutant group.

"Yeah! Even-though-things-didn't-go-as-expected." Pietro added quickly.

"I told you that might happen. That's what I trained you all for. Charles' students love to get into other people's business."

"But this time, they got burned. Haha." John joked, only to get an angry glare from Wanda.

"That was SO funny."

"What was funny?" A husky voice sounded from behind Wanda. She felt small shivers and turned around to complain, but her voice got caught in her throat when she saw Magneto's new recruit standing right in front of her, wearing only a black towel. His body was still wet and water dripped from his hair. "Y' like what ya' see, chérie?" He smirked, noticing she was blushing and her eyes were wide open.

"Will-you-stop-flirting-with-my-sister, Gambit?" Pietro rushed to their side and put an arm over his sister's shoulder, staring right into his eyes.

"Pietro, shut it!" Wanda blushed even more and walked away after slapping his arm.

"Wasn't doing anything forbidden, _mon ami_." Gambit tilted his head to the side.

"Actually, Remy, I'd rather have you away from my daughter. And put some clothes on. This is not a hotel where you can walk around the way you feel like." Magneto stated as Remy sighed and went up to his room to dress. "Now back to business. We succeeded in getting one more diamond. Now we've got 4. Probably Charles already knows about our new achievement since it's been all over the news. Although I'm sure he knows nothing about the others since they were stolen in other countries and a professional thief did it, not leaving any traces."

"You call that a professional? He's just a cheap thief!" Lance looked at Magneto in disbelief.

"As I said, not leaving any traces, something a cheap thief wouldn't be able to do." At that, Lance got silent. "The problem is now our task is much more difficult. There is just one diamond remaining, and I left it as the final one because once we get it, we will have the X-Men after us."

"And why is that?" John asked.

"Simply because Charles possesses it. He bought it when we were still friends, and I remember it very well. He was quite curious about what the diamond could do. So was I. While Charles was busy, trying to convince humans to accept mutants and some other utopist ideas, I started studying the diamond myself. I found out that, despite its small size, it can absorb a huge amount of energy and maximize it. Later, I researched all by myself and realized that wasn't the only diamond with that capacity. But back then we still didn't have the technology to do what I wanted. Now things have changed. My last machine was only a small toy compared to what this new project will be able to do. And the diamonds will give it the energy it needs to work. In other words, it's our own nuclear energy source, only more powerful. But there's a complication. A few months ago, I thought it would be easier for us to steal it. But then he came back from the dead. So I thought: how will we get the yellow diamond? No one can step in that mansion without having their mind read."

"Cept' for me." Remy said, returning to the living room dressed in dark jeans and a red and black shirt that matched his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Fred, aka Blob, finally spoke, leaving his pot of ice cream alone for the first time.

"I mean this is the main reason Gambit got this job. Besides being an exceptional thief…"

"Very exceptional, I should add." Remy interrupted.

"His power doesn't allow any type of psychical invasion." Magneto went on as he hadn't been interrupted at all.

"So that means that-" Lance started but Remy interrupted again.

"Oui, mon ami. Remy will be goin' to a comfortable mansion as ya stay 'ere." He smirked and went up to his room as the rest of the Brotherhood stared in disbelief at Magneto, who was smiling, lost in his thoughts.

Rogue walked to the Med Lab to check on Kitty. She surely had been upset at her friend lately for being with Bobby all the time but it didn't mean she was angry at her and she wanted to let her friend know that. After all, Kitty and Jubilee were her first girlfriends at the institute. Rogue sighed as she thought about the days when everything was just fine, including her relationship. However, all those thoughts stopped when she opened the Med Lab door and she stopped in her tracks. Bobby was sitting by the side of Kitty's bed, talking to her and laughing.

'_What does he think he's doing?_' She thought as anger built up inside. She coughed to announce her presence and Kitty just smiled wide at her as Bobby lowered his eyes.

"Hey, Rogue! I thought you wouldn't, like, come and visit me."

"Sorry, Kitty, Ah was kind of tired from earlier and took a nap. How ya doin'? "

"Oh, you know, Mr. McCoy said I should stay and rest for tonight. Just because a piece of the ceiling fell on my head! Can you believe that? It's like, such a waste of the night."

"At least Bobby is here keeping you company after such a hard day for us." Rogue said with a slight sarcasm on her voice. Kitty looked at her, feeling a bit guilty. She felt bad Rogue and Bobby had been arguing so much lately, especially because she knew most of their fights were because of jealousy. The worst part is that she didn't even like Bobby in _that_ way. He was her friend, and that was all.

_'Why would I, like, waste my time with a boy who got a girlfriend when there's a piece of heaven like Pete around?'_ She thought.

"Rogue, I just thought it would be nice to come and visit her. After all, she is hurt. I was worried." Bobby said to her, with a hint of impatience in his voice. All the jealousy over Kitty was getting him annoyed. He thought it was silly, since they never did anything wrong. Just flirting wasn't a crime, right? And he always thought Kitty was so cute and at the same time so different from Rogue. But she was his girlfriend and he had to put up with her mood swings. It was true their relationship was in a crisis, and yes, he had thought many times about breaking up. The problem is: Why would he leave his girlfriend if he didn't think Kitty would ever date her friend's ex-boyfriend?

_'Not that I would do that to Rogue, but…'_ Bobby felt a bit guilty for having those thoughts. _'It's not easy to date someone who I can't touch. I wish we could just have a normal relation.'_

"Alrahght Bobby. Ah think it's nice that ya visit Kitty and all. She is mah friend too. However, Ah think we should spend more time together, only meh and ya, dontcha think?"

"Yeah, but there are other important things I need to do!" He said defensively.

"Oh, Ah see… lately everything seems more important than meh to ya, ya know?" Rogue finally let her anger out. She was tired of spending almost everyday by herself while her boyfriend had much more important things to do, like going out with his friends, studying with Kitty, watching TV, and so on. Not that she didn't feel like having time for herself and having her own space, but that was way too much!

"Now don't you start again, please!" He raised his hands and looked at her in annoyance.

"Start what? Bobby, Ah just want us to be together! ...Ah'm not gonna talk about that here. She should be resting."

She turned around to leave and heard Kitty call her name, but she didn't turn around. She just said "Sorry Kitty, but Ah just wish it was mah boyfriend calling mah name, not you." and then left. This time she didn't go to her room, but to the garden. She realized sitting there in the grass and watching the moon made her calm down and think about how all the problems were so small compared to the stars above.

She passed the hall of the mansion and heard Jubilee call her from the kitchen door, but she didn't even bother to look. She needed to be alone for a while. When Rogue finally reached the trees she sat beneath an old oak. It was her favorite place in the mansion, especially at night. The forest around the mansion somehow looked magical. That's exactly what she needed, to get away from her problems for a while.

Rogue hated feeling sorry for herself and that's why she tried to focus on the good things around her. It wasn't worth sitting and crying for hours because it wouldn't do any good. It would only give her a stupid headache and a swollen face. She knew the world wouldn't stop just to watch her weep. Things would keep happening, hours would still pass, and she wasn't willing to waste her precious life with self pity. Sometimes though, she just couldn't help some tears escaping her green eyes. She looked at the stars and wished she could have someone there to wipe them away and to kiss them away. But it was only her and the old oak.

Finally, after two hours sitting there, she stood up.

"God, if Ah stay here more time Ah'll become a tree mahself." She winced when her back started hurting because of her sitting position. _'Great! And tomorrow Ah got Danger Room session in the morning with Logan. I'm dead.'_ She walked back to the mansion and went to her room.

When she got there, Jubilee was already sleeping and a small paper was over on her own bed. She picked it up and read: _Sorry about today. Tomorrow I'll make it up to you. Love you, Bobby._

She smiled slightly thinking it was already a big step for him to apologize. Maybe he was really willing to fix his mistakes. _'Hmm, wonder what he will do tomorrow.'_ She thought while lying down on her bed, staring at the walls. _'Ah just wish we would stop arguing and do something nice.'_ She kept thinking about what Bobby was planning to do, but stopped when Jubilee started snoring. Rogue held back a chuckle, and covered herself with the sheets. She was half asleep when something came to her mind, nearly as a dream. Those red on black eyes. She snapped her eyes open and looked confused. 'Oh _c'mon Rogue, it was just a guy at the mall. Why are ya thinking about him now? Just go to sleep.'_ She told herself and finally fell asleep.

The following morning, she woke up feeling strangely happy. For some reason, something inside her said it was going to be a great day. She looked to Jubilee's bed and saw her friend still asleep, drooling on her pillow. Rogue went to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower, feeling all her problems being washed away. When she finished, she put her clothes on and brushed her teeth and her hair.

"Jubs, wake up or ya gonna be late." She tried to shake Jubilee, but the girl only rolled to her other side and said something that sounded like _hmm ahhn uhm grunf_. Rogue rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen to get some breakfast before the Danger Room session. Bobby was already there chatting with some other boys and smiled when he saw her come in. He walked up to her and whispered "Good morning, sunshine."

"Hey, Bobby." She gave him a small smile, still feeling a bit weird about yesterday's fight.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to upset you, ok?" He said and gave her a tight hug.

"It's ok, sugah. Ah am sorry too." It felt good holding him after such a long time.

"Now, sit down and I'll cook you some pancakes." He said, smiling wider.

"Oh no! Now you plan to kill me?" Rogue teased him. Bobby stuck his tongue out at her.

"I know you won't be able to stop eating."

"Yeah, ok." She laughed and sat down, watching him cook. _'Today is really going to be good'._


	5. Pancakes and fresh Cajun meat

**I do not own the X-men or any character. Too bad.**

Thanks for the reviews! It's really nice this story is working.

Now more Remy in this chapter, and soon ... ROMY! But you'll have to wait until next chapter, which is already being written. =D Enjoy this one and pleaaaaase review!

Rogue took her first bite of the pancake and nearly vomited, but she held it back and smiled at Bobby, doing her best poker face.

"Sugah, this is delicious. Where did ya learn how to do it?" she did her best to sound amazed by his cooking skills, while deep in her mind she thought 'Oh mah gawd, how can it be so awful? It's not possible someone can cook _this_ badly. Argh.'.

"Some online recipes. Told you I was good at it. I mean, it's not as hard as people make it seem."

In that moment, Jubilee finally arrived at the kitchen with messy hair and she still looked asleep.

"Oh great, I'm starving" She just ran to the pancakes and put a huge piece in her mouth. Her eyes widened in a way Rogue thought they would explode. "Argh, gosh! What is this? A new defense mechanism in case someone invades the mansion? It's worse than Kitty's muffins. Oh freak!" She spat out all she could and drank a glass full of water. Bobby looked offended at her.

"I made it and it's not bad at all. Rogue loved it, didn't you darling?" He looked at her inquisitively.

"What? Oh yeah, it's delicious." She repeated mechanically.

"Are you out of your _mind_? I'm not even hungry anymore. That thing could kill anyone that takes any more than two bites." Jubilee kept spitting on the plate, making Rogue feel relieved that she could give an excuse for not eating anymore.

"You are just jealous I can cook and you can't."

"Why would I be jealous? You can kill people with food, so what?"

"Ok, ok guys! Jubs, Ah liked the pancakes anyways, so let's stop this. Bobby, why don'tcha go get ready for the Danger Room? Ah'll be there in fahve minutes. Ah'm just gonna, umm, talk about girl stuff to Jubilee."

Bobby was a bit reluctant in leaving so Rogue added "It's about her period." At that, he just turned around and left in a hurry.

"Gawd, Ah can't believe Ah was able ta swallow that thang!"

"Wow, you scared me when you said you liked it! I thought it had damaged your brain or something."

Rogue laughed and said "Well, he had good intentions, so that's already good enough. But yeah, the pancakes sucked. Thanks for spitting on the rest of it." She laughed louder and then winked at her friend and left for the Danger Room. When she got there, many students were already in their training uniforms and waiting for Logan. Rogue went to the dressing room and put on her own uniform and tied her hair so it wouldn't fall on her face during a fight. As soon as she came out, Logan showed up, grabbing Jubilee by her arm.

"Told you, wake up earlier next time. I don't want anyone late to my training, and that includes you, prick."

"But Wolvie, I'm still sleepy!"

"Great, so you'll be the first. It will wake you up." He growled.

Jubilee growled even louder. Rogue went into the Danger Room and lined up with the others, standing close to Bobby. Wolverine finally came in and said, "So, today it's gonna be pretty simple. I'll teach you some defense moves and you just need to copy me. Then you'll train in pairs and finally we'll make a simulation."

_'Wish I saved some of those pancakes so I could use it now.'_ Rogue thought while copying Wolverine's moves. Jubilee was having the toughest time since he kept telling her she wasn't doing it correctly and then he told her to start it all over again.

When everything was over, including simulations, everyone felt exhausted.

"I don't know what you kids are complaining about. It was supposed to be simple."

"Yeah, it was _supposed_ to be simple." Amara, a new girl that was about seventeen years old, said. Wolverine shook his head at them.

Rogue showered and went upstairs to rest for a while. When she got to the dorms corridor, she saw Kitty coming down the hall.

"Hey! I'm finally out!" She jumped to Rogue's side. "Oh, you look, like, so tired. Let me guess: Logan, Danger Room?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Yer lucky that ya were in a comfy bed." Rogue felt every bone in her body hurting.

"Yeah, but even luckier that I heard the Professor and Mr. McCoy talking. You need to hear this!" She pushed Rogue to her own room, right in the moment when Jubilee was coming upstairs. "You better come too, Jubilee". Jubilee looked up and pretty much crawled up the remaining steps and into Kitty's room. Kitty shared it with Tabitha but she was out this month traveling.

"I just heard the Professor talking to Mr. Hank. We are like, going to have a new student here! And it's a male student!" She nearly jumped up and down as she spoke.

"Ah can't believe this is it." Rogue was disappointed. She thought it was about the diamond.

"Kitty, this is great news! Maybe he is like, a bit older than us, and totally hot."

"Yeah, Jubilee. That's like, all I could think about. I heard that he is coming tonight."

Rogue stood up and said she needed to rest before doing some late homework and left the room. The talk was funny and it got her curious, but right now she had a stupid headache that was getting on her nerves. Every now and then she had those headaches, and she was getting worried about it. Rogue entered her room, closed the curtains and lay down, massaging the sides of her head.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she started to hear the familiar whispers in her mind. Was it just a coincidence or did the headache have something to do with it? She turned to her side and tried to ignore the voices but they started getting louder.

"Stop!" She muttered, closing her eyes tightly and clenching her teeth. She could feel a tingling sensation all over her body, but then, as quickly as it started, it was over. The voices stopped and her headache nearly got better. Now, she could feel her body shaking though. Sighing, Rogue sat up on the edge of the bed and tried to calm down.

_'Now, that was weird.'_ She thought. After a few minutes, she just collapsed on her bed, feeling exhausted, and fell asleep almost instantly.

He packed the rest of his clothes and then looked around the room, trying to see if he had forgotten anything. Remy felt extremely relieved that he was leaving this place in a few moments. Being trapped in this house, not being allowed to leave whenever he wanted to and taking orders from Magneto sure wasn't what he expected from this job. Sure the money was high and all but… he had been feeling like a prisoner in here and quite bored to be honest. Now, he was finally leaving and going to a comfortable huge mansion, where he didn't have to stay twenty four hours a day. He wondered how long he'd have to stay there, with all those students and kids. _'Until everything is ready.' _He remembered Magneto's words on the previous day. Remy only hoped it wouldn't take too long. All he wanted was to get the job done and live his own life by himself again.

He turned around and left his room, closing the door behind him. In the hall, he walked past John, who just ignored him. Remy nearly laughed at the thought of how much all the boys at this place just hated him.

Magneto was waiting outside, looking just like a normal citizen, in normal clothes. He watched as Remy came closer and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Now, don't forget my instructions. Be careful with everything you say, and keep your mind blocked all the time. Charles is smarter than you imagine." He said firmly.

"Don' worry. Remy's smarter than y' imagine too."

"Good. Now find the diamond, but don't get it until I tell you so. And remember that other mission I gave you. It's as important as getting the stone because without it, everything gets harder. Understand? Ok. So, you have your phone with you, right?"

"Oui." Remy nodded.

"Then this is it. You can go now." Magneto stepped back as Remy climbed on his orange and black bike and put his helmet on. The young man lifted his hand as to say bye and took off.

He could feel the air rushing all over his body and that made him smile. Freedom, at last. Riding his bike always made all the worries go away, like nothing could disturb him while he was riding. Not even the slow drivers in front of him. Remy just sped it up and headed for the highway. It didn't take long until he could see a huge property in front of him. He got to the front gate and took a deep breath. Then, after pressing a button on the side wall and identifying himself, the gates opened and he drove in.

As soon as Remy entered the property, he realized the job wasn't going to be just like any of his other jobs before. A huge mansion was in front of him, with a forest on its right side. The gardens were well-treated and there was a sports area. Everything seemed to be in the right spot to make the place look spectacular, but still, it looked like a very familiar place.

_'Dis is gonna be fun._' Remy's smile grew wider behind his black helmet. He stopped his bike close to the front door and removed his helmet slowly. He shook his head and his hair fell around his face, looking messy and sexy at the same time. Looking up, he saw many windows and balconies, when something caught his eyes. On the last balcony to the right side there was a girl standing and staring at him. As soon as he saw her, she went inside, closing the glass door behind her. Something about her looked very familiar, but Remy couldn't figure out what. He climbed off his bike and went to the front door. When he was going to press the doorbell, the door opened and a man with dark shades stood in front of him.

"Hello, you must be…"

"Remy LeBeau. And y'…?"

"My name is Scott Summers. Come on in. Professor Charles Xavier is waiting for you in his office. Follow me." Scott opened the door completely to allow him in. Remy stepped inside and thought _'Dis is gonna be __**really**__ fun!' _The place looked even more magnificent from the inside. Many expensive vases and paintings everywhere, as were marble, tapestries and silver chandeliers.

_'Dis must be heaven. Damn, how am I s'pposed to not steal anyt'ing?'_ He had to keep his best poker face on so Scott wouldn't realize he was doing his best not to let his jaw drop.

"This is his office. You may come in. He is waiting for you." Scott said and Remy nodded. As he opened the door, all he could think was _'I'm in.'_

_A while before_

Rogue opened her eyes and stretched herself on the bed. She looked at the clock and found it was nearly four pm.

'Oh great. Ah overslept.' She went into the bathroom and washed her face, trying to wake up properly. That's when she heard the roar of a motorbike coming from the front gates. She smiled and rushed to her balcony, thinking Logan had returned from a day out. However, it wasn't Logan's bike coming in. And it definitely wasn't Logan riding it. The man driving looked much younger, taller and slim. Since she couldn't figure out who it was, she supposed it had to be the new guy. She smiled when she remembered the girls talking about it earlier. _'At least he looks about our age, a bit older, just lahke Jubilee wished he was. Ah wonder if he is hot as well._' Rogue leaned on the balcony and narrowed her eyes, trying to see his face clearer when he took off his helmet. She felt surprised when she thought his face looked very familiar.

_'Where have Ah seen this guy?'_ She forced her mind to remember. _'Wow, he IS hot. Unless he has acne or something and Ah can't see it from here.'_

Right at that moment, he looked straight in her direction and she could feel his eyes piercing hers even from so far away. She felt her heartbeat increase and left the balcony, feeling ashamed that she got caught staring at him.

_'Oh, that was embarrassing.'_ She was just recovering when suddenly the door slammed open and Jubilee came running into the room in a hysterical state.

"THE NEW GUY'S HERE! HE'S HERE! HE'S HEREEEE!" She kept jumping and repeating.

"Jubs, be quiet! Yeah, Ah saw him reaching the front gate. Calm down girl!"

"I can't. He is soooo extremely hot. I saw him on the way to Xavier's office. He has to be a beauty god or something. You think that's his power?"

"Ah don't know, Ah haven't seen him from…" Rogue was interrupted when Kitty and her friend Lorna also came running into the room, with Betsy Braddock looking exasperated behind them.

"HE IS SO, LIKE, TOTALLY HOT! WE ARE SO LUCKY!" Kitty and Lorna squealed.

"Can you believe this?" Betsy asked Rogue in a thick British accent.

"You just don't care because you are dating Warren. But we are single and free and needy." Jubilee stated as if that was a scientific proof that they had the right to get hysterical.

"Should we get something to calm them down?" Rogue asked with fake concern in her voice.

"Well, I could always use a psychic attack on them." Betsy chuckled. That was when Logan stopped outside of the door and asked louder than the girl's voices, "Will you ladies shut up? My ears don't heal that fast! And Chuck's busy with a new prick."

All the girls got quiet and only Rogue had a playful smile on her lips. Logan gave her a small wink and left. The other girls stared at each other in shock and then started laughing.

'_X-men, please come to my office so I can introduce the new student.'_ Xavier's voice spoke in their heads and the girls rushed out of the room.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Remy was sitting in front of Xavier's desk, hearing the last information about the place and its purpose. He could feel his mind shield being threatened twice but then it stopped. When Xavier finally finished asking him questions about him and his previous activities (which Remy said was a type of bounty hunter), there was a knock on the door. Then, it opened and twelve people came inside.

"X-men, this is Remy LeBeau, also known as Gambit in his previous job. Let's welcome him to the mansion. Remy, this is the team I told you about."

Ohhh, what's coming next? Haha, mystery. But here's a clue: Romy.

Reviews please


	6. Time to chill

**sorry for not updating in a while but university is killing me! finally vacation is coming, thank god =D I'll try to update more often if more reviews come haha**

**plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz review so I'll feel like writing**

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Remy stared at each of them but one face caught his eye. The girl with white streaks on her hair. The girl from the mall! Now he finally remembered where he had seen her before and why she had looked so familiar when he saw her on the balcony.

'Rogue.' He thought. It wasn't easy at all to forget such a pretty face, and her unique hair which made her even sexier. But the main reason he remembered her was because of her reaction when they first met. He would never forget the fear in her eyes when he came closer, almost like she didn't want him to touch her. And then there was the sadness. That was the weirdest. He kept staring into her eyes, which still held a bit of melancholy in them. She also stared right back at him, appearing to be kinda shocked. Wouldn't she ever look delighted to see him, like the other girls did?

'His eyes! It's the guy from the mall. How could Ah forget?' Sometimes, for some reason, she would still dream about his eyes. It's just they were so… mesmerizing. He kept looking straight at her, and there was a dim red glow on his eyes. She almost felt the need to gasp for air, as her heart seemed to be running for its life in her chest. She felt almost annoyed he wouldn't look away, because she couldn't do that either. Their eyes seemed to be locked to each other.

"Let me introduce you, Remy. These are the older X-men: Scott Summers, Ororo Munroe, Logan, Hank McCoy. The younger ones are: Robert Drake, Piotr Rasputin, Warren Worthington, Katherine Pryde, Jubilation Lee, Lorna Dane, Betsy Braddock and Rogue."

Remy complimented each of them and then kissed Rogue's gloved hand. She immediately removed her hand from his grip, and he nearly winced, feeling she was scared of his touch but then his expression softened when he saw her face turning bright red.

"Nice t' see y' 'gain, cherie." He looked up into her eyes and gave her a little smirk.

"Ah, hum…" her voice got caught in her dry throat. Bobby glared at him and then walked to Rogue's side, putting his arm around her, a mix of surprise and jealousy on his face, but Remy didn't even seem to notice his approach. Jubilee, Kitty and Lorna just couldn't believe she knew THAT guy.

"Oh, Rogue, I didn't know you had already met Remy before." Xavier said, smiling at her.

"No, Professor. Ah just… Ah bumped onto him once at the mall. That's all."

"Aw belle, it wasn't just a bump, was it?" Remy asked teasingly. Rogue looked at him with her mouth open like she couldn't believe what he had just said. Logan snarled to himself, making Ororo nervous.

"Excuse me! You know, she is my girlfriend!" Bobby interrupted.

"Oh sorry. And you are…?" Remy asked like he didn't really care about the answer.

"Call me Iceman." Bobby shook Remy's hand, making it freeze a bit. The Cajun looked surprised for half a second and then shook Bobby's hand harder, making the ice melt charging it with kinetic energy. Iceman removed his hand quickly and narrowed his eyes.

"So, Ororo, could you please show Remy around the place?" the Professor felt it was time to speak and break the ice, almost literally.

"Yes, Professor." She said relieved and walked to the door. "Come, Mr. LeBeau."

"Please, de name's Remy, ma belle." He said with a very seductive voice which made Jubilee and Kitty nearly drop dead. He gave one last look at Rogue before leaving and excused himself out of the office, following Ororo.

As both of them walked through the front hall, many students gave Remy curious looks. Ororo gave him a smile.

"I hope you like attention, because for the next two weeks you'll be _the new guy_." She laughed.

"Don' worry, Remy loves some attention, especially from de belle filles like y'." He gave her a devilish smirk. Ororo just gave him a soft smile in return as she knew he was just trying to charm her. It wasn't the first time a man tried to do that.

"So, here we are." She said as they reached the third door to the right on the second floor. "This is your room. I hope you feel comfortable. Did the Professor tell you about the meals time?"

Remy nodded.

"Ok. If you need anything, let me know. Your stuff are already in there."

"Merci, Ororo."

"You're welcome. I'll see you later, Remy."

Remy entered the room and dropped his bags on the floor. He looked around the elegant room. There was a bed on the right wall next to a closet. There was a door to the right, which Remy assumed to be the bathroom, and a closet. He walked to the white curtains in front of him and opened them. There were glass doors behind them and a balcony, with a beautiful view of the mansion garden.

Remy leaned on the balcony, lit a cigarette and took a drag. As he watched the smoke curling on the air, he thought about his talk to the Professor Xavier.

'_Good evening, Mr. LeBeau. __I'm Professor Charles Xavier. You may sit down.' The old man said, gesturing to a comfortable chair in front of his desk. Remy thought he was somehow similar to Magneto, but at the same time very different. He had the same power coming from him, which made people respect him naturally. He also seemed very intelligent. But his eyes made him different. They were not cold, but strangely familiar and sympathetic. Remy nearly frowned when he realized the man looked at him gently. He surely was different than Magneto._

'_Good evening. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professeur.' Remy shook his hand and then sat down.__ A sudden tingle feeling in his head warned him someone was trying to enter his mind. Remy forced his shield around him, but even before he did that he felt the tingling stop._

'_So Mr. LeBeau, what brings you to this school? Have you been experiencing any problems with your powers?'_

'_Actually, non. It's just it's been pretty hard out dere wit' all dis anti-mutant groups, y' know? I was tired of runnin' and hidin', no matter where I went. Dis place wasn't my first option, t' be honest, but den I heard about the job y' do here, helping mutants who have nowhere else t' go. I thought it'd be good t' do somet'in' useful as well, so I decided to come an' see if I can join your crew. Mus' tell y' dis is a beautiful work y' 're doing here.'_

'_People who want to help will be always very welcome here, for sure. I'm glad you want to share my dream, and believe me, I wouldn't have gotten this far without people that wanted to share and help me with my dream.' The Professor gave him a wide smile. 'However…'_

_Remy had to hold back the urge to roll his eyes at him. There was always a but._

'_However…' Xavier went on. '… it's not as easy as it may seem. Do you have any experience working with kids or teenagers? It gets chaotic here at times.'_

_Remy's jaw dropped for a second, as he was caught off guard._

'_Er, hm… not really.' Was all he was able to say._

'_Oh. What did you work with before?'_

'_Bounty hunting.' He quickly answered, trying to look as innocent as his red eyes allowed him to._

'_Well… guns are useless to hold back kids from making a mess. Specially when some are invulnerable.' Xavier laughed. ' But I suppose you must have some good fighting skills. That's a great start. We need some fighting instructor for our Danger Room, since the main instructor usually is out with his motorcycle. How does it sound?'_

'_Sounds great! Got some good stuff to teach dese kids.'_

'_Alright. Then, you are more than welcome to stay here, Mr. LeBeau.'_

'_Y' can call me Remy, sir.' That 'Mr. LeBeau' sounded very weird to Remy, who wasn't used to such a respectful treatment from others._

'_Remy, there are just some rules here I'd like you to follow. No alcoholic drinks allowed, and no smoking inside, ok?'_

'_Oui.' Remy knew it wouldn't be hard for him to hide some stuff under his bed, like he did when he was younger at home._

'_Breakfast time is from 6am until 8am, since classes start at 8:15. Lunch time is from 11am until 1pm. And dinner, well… some students order pizza after class, others fix something to eat. You will find anything you need in the kitchen.'_

'_No worries, Remy's familiar with kitchens.'_

_Then there was a knock on the door, and the so called X-Men came inside._

He took his last drag before throwing away the cigarette and closed his red on black eyes. How did he get himself in this mess? He remembered when Magneto found him in New Orleans and said he was looking for a professional thief to do a job for him. And the paying… well, it had many zeros on it. A few years ago he would be enjoying each moment of adrenaline. But, strangely even to him, all he felt was exhaustion.

'Damn, what am I doin'? Dis is n't Remy. Time t' have fun.' Remy snapped his eyes open, turned around and put his trenchcoat on, grabbing his Harley's keys on the way out of the door.

* * *

"Rogue, why didn't you tell us? I didn't know you were so selfish." Jubilee pouted while sitting in front of Rogue on her bed.

"Jubs, Ah told ya, Ah only saw him for like, 10 seconds. How would Ah remember?" she asked, while thinking 'Why did Ah remember?'.

"Ok, ok. But he talked as if you two had more than just 10 seconds together." Jubilee looked suspiciously at Rogue.

"Well, he sounded like a pervert to meh. Did ya see the look on his face?"

"Hmm, I wish he was being a pervert to me…"

"Gawd, Jubilee".

"What? C'mon, he is hot."

"Well… he seemed kinda cocky to meh." 'But still hot' She thought with a hint of guilt.

Jubilee was about to make a dirty comment when Bobby opened the door.

"Oh, hey Jubilee. Rogue, I was thinking… do you want go have dinner with me somewhere?"

"Sure." Rogue jumped up with a bright smile. "Just let meh change mah clothes and I'll be downstairs."

"Ok, I'll be waiting." He sent her a kiss and left.

"Seems like you two are doing better."

"Yeah, he really seems to be trying to make things work this time. Ah'm so happy, ya know?"

"I'm sure you are chica. Have fun tonight, ok? And chill." Jubilee stood up and went to Kitty's room.

Rogue changed her clothes and ran out of her room. But she didn't expect someone was passing right in front of it on that moment.

"Ouch!" Her head made contact with something.

"Merde!"

"Ah'm … oh." She looked up and gasped when she saw two red eyes shining right in front of her. Just like her latest dream… or should it be a nightmare?

"Perfect timin', cherie. If y' wanna get close t' moi, jus' ask."

Her surprise vanished when he said that and she narrowed her eyes. What was he thinking?

"Cut it, Cajun. Ya talk lahke that and ya don't even know meh. It will give people the wrong idea."

"Pardon belle. Why don't we get t' know each other better and solve this problem, hein?"

"Are ya always lahke this?" Rogue asked exasperatedly.

"Hmm…" Remy pretended to be thinking a bit. "Yeah, I guess." And smirked at her.

"Argh." She headed to the stairs and Remy followed her.

"Goin' for a night out?"

"None of yer business."

"Ouch." He gave her a hurt look.

Rogue got downstairs and saw Bobby standing on the front door. She felt a bit embarrassed that Remy was still walking on her side as she headed for the door.

Remy nearly rolled his eyes when he saw the Iceboy waiting for her there. 'She deserves somet'ing hotter.'

"Hey sugah." She put her gloved hand over Bobby's mouth and kissed it. Remy looked a little confused for a second but decided to just walk by.

"See y', belle." He said over his shoulder.

Bobby crossed his arms. "You were with him?"

"He was coming downstairs as well. We just had a friendly talk." She said out loud, putting as much sarcasm as she could on the word 'friendly'.

"…ok." Bobby didn't understand the sarcasm. "It's just this new guy seems pretty cocky."

"Oh, ya think?" more sarcasm.

Remy heard that last part before getting into the garage and smiled. 'She's got attitude.' He got on his bike and passed through them as they got into a blue car.

"So, where are we going?" Rogue asked.

"Hope you like sushi." Bobby knew she was crazy about it.

"Great!"

They spent a few minutes without talking but it didn't feel uncomfortable. Actually, Rogue felt it was a good start for a night they weren't fighting.

"Ah'm very happy we are making this work, Bobby." She said honestly.

"Me too. The last few months were kinda hard, but I really think we can make everything better. I want to try to make it work."

"Ah want it to work." She kissed his shoulder over his shirt. "Ah missed these moments."

"You know, I wish that Cure had worked for longer, so we could have many more moments of real touching."

Rogue frowned a little bit and got quiet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Rogue. I mean…"

"No, it's ok sugah. Ah know what ya meant, and Ah feel that way as well. Ah'm not upset, ok?"

He put his hand over hers for a moment.

"I'm sorry anyways. Let's make this night special, what you think?"

"It will be." At least she hoped so.


	7. In the dark

**Unfortunately, i do not own the x-men =/ sux**

**It took me some time to update because i was on a trip, i'm reallyyy sorry, btu as soon as i came back i started working on this one. the vacation gave my mind great ideas for this story, and i hope you like it. there is some mystery comiiiing =D i'm proud of myself lol**

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Erik Lensheer was sitting in front of a huge computer screen, in thought. Soon, Gambit would give him the piece that was missing for his machine. 'Only a matter of weeks' he thought. He wasn't used to partnerships and sharing, but he was somehow grateful to the man who had given him the direction to his plan. It was really hard to find genius scientists knocking on your door and giving you exactly what you wanted, and even the means to get it.

Of course, he was doubtful in the beginning, but he had heard about Essex many years before. A famous geneticist who was misunderstood in the scientific community for his… unusual methods.

'_It is very good news for me what you say Essex, but why would I believe in any of it?' Erik raised his eyebrow to the dark figure in front of him, covered in a long coat and wearing a hat to cover his face._

'_Lensheer, we are business men. I'm helping you for a reason, of course. Can you imagine how it would be to control all those humans? Great, I suppose. Well, for me there are greater things. I'm helping you so you will help me too._

'_Help you exactly how?' Erik still felt there was something behind that story._

'_Mmm… you see, there is a huge experiment I'm working on. And I need some, er… let's use the rude expression "lab rats". Many human lab rats. So you want to get rid of them, and I need them for a purpose, not in good conditions but still alive. Understand? I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the results. Imagine, so much power, directed with one single purpose. You need someone powerful, of course. Extremely powerful. And I know you have this person closer than you think. Am I right?'_

'_Yes, powerful indee__d, AND out of control, but…'_

'_A minor sacrifice for a noble cause! It's not the first time.' Essex eyes narrowed as he approached Erik. 'Think about it and then contact me. I got the right man for the service. Oh, and don't forget what my payment will be.'_

'_I will think carefully about it.'_

'_I'm sure you will.' Essex turned around and soon disappeared in the dark alley they were standing._

It was no doubt the sacrifice he had to do wasn't something easy. '_But for a noble cause'_ he thought.

* * *

"So…" Rogue said after a few minutes of silence chewing sushi. Bobby was very quiet tonight, almost as if he was avoiding talking so they wouldn't have reasons to fight.

"How's the food?" he asked, taking a sip of his coke.

"It's amazing, I love this place. The fish doesn't taste like refrigerator."

Bobby chuckled. "I know what you mean… You know, I had been thinking… what will you do this vacation?"

"Ah don't know. Stay at the mansion probably. Got no where to go, to be honest."

"I thought if you'd like to go on a trip to Hawaii." He smiled at her when her jaw dropped slightly.

"Bobby! Really, sugah? Ah haven't gone to a warm place since I left Mississippi. I miss the hot temperatures so much! Oh, and there is the beach, swimming pools, shopping, volcano visits… you can teach me how to surf!"

"This means you want to go?"

"Yeah sure! Although Ah wouldn't be able to swim at a crowded beach wearing a bikini, but still I could wear those special surfist's suits, rahte?"

"Yep. I don't think anyone will mind. Kitty said her cousin loved to surf so she …"

"Wait… you told Kitty we are going to Hawaii already?"

"Silly, she is going with us. Just like Piotr, Sam Guthrie, his sister Paige, Betsy, Lorna, Warren, and Kitty is telling Jubilee about it tonight. By the way, the house belongs to Kitty's uncle."

"Ah-Ah thought it was just you and meh." Rogue sighed. "Ah'm so stupid!"

"Wait, aren't you happy about it?"

"Bobby, why everything we do has to be related to Kitty somehow? This is supposed to be a romantic dinner, and you come and invite meh to go to Hawaii. That's wonderful! But guess what? SHE will be there with us too. It's not you and meh evah! It's always you, meh and Kitty!" she finished the sentence almost screaming.

"Rogue, calm down. I thought you would be happy about everyone traveling together."

"Ah'd be happy if we were doing fahne, but we've been fighting. Ah wanted us to be together for a while to make things work again. We need some time for us. How many times do Ah have to say that? Us, Bobby, US!"

Bobby rubbed his head with both hands and cursed silently.

"Ok, Rogue. Then nevermind this trip, ok? Let's stay here, just us, rotting at the mansion."

"That's how ya feel when you are with meh? Rotting?"

"No, I'd feel rotting staying at the mansion during the vacation while everyone is in Hawaii!"

"We could travel somewhere else! Why you always avoid being alone with meh?"

"Because it always ends up like this!"

Rogue looked around and realized every single person at the restaurant was staring at them. She held back her tears and whispered "Fine."

She grabbed her purse and stood, then walked to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" she heard Bobby cry out after her but didn't turn around to answer. All she wanted to do was to get away from him.

Rogue turned around to the right after a few blocks, leaving the crowded avenue and kept walking until she got to a dark street, and sat on the pavement. 'Ah can't believe he just did that. Or is it mah fault? Am Ah really this hard to be around with?' She finally let her tears come out as she looked at the place she was sitting at. There were some broken light signs of a hotel across the street, and light coming out of the bar behind her, but that was it. Everything else was dark and she could only hear a distant rumor of the cars, mixed with some heavy metal song coming from behind her. A chill ran down her spine as she felt someone exiting the bar and coming towards her. She stood up in a second, wiping her tears, and clenched her fists.

"Hey, miss. This is not a nice place to be, sitting alone like this. Wanna join me for a drink?" A red haired man asked her. He didn't look ugly, but he surely looked like he had other intentions besides drinking. And he already looked very drunk.

"Nah, thanks. A friend is coming to pick meh up. He just called and…"

"It's okay, I'll take you home, sweety. Just join me for a drink and we can go, what you say?"

"I just said: no."

"Too bad. Then I'll be a little more persuasive." He came closer to her and put his hands around her waist.

"Get yer hands off me!" she screamed at the same time the guy was shoved away.

"De fille said non, Dean. Leave her alone." A deep voice said.

"Oh, Louis, I'm just inviting her for a…" Dean shut up when he looked at _Louis _face and saw he wasn't in the mood. "Ok then. Maybe some other night." And he went inside the bar again.

Rogue crossed her arms and looked at the man in front of her.

"Ah could've handled it, _Louis._"

Remy smirked at her.

"Y' didn't expect me t' tell dese people my real name, did y' cherie? Or let y' get y'r hands dirty with _dat_." He nodded in the bar's direction. "Admit, y'r grateful."

"Oh yeah, swamp rat. Should Ah kiss yer feet?"

"Hum, maybe y' could kiss my…"

"Ah was being sarcastic. How ya know that guy anyways? Is that the kind of people ya walk around with?"

"Non, but it is good t' have contacts on the … underworld." He whispered the last word as if trying to make it sound spooky.

"Sounds like ya."

"But he was right about somet'ing, belle. Dis is not a good place for y' to be sittin'." He frowned, sounding serious for the first time. "What happen'd? Weren't y' goin' out with dat Iceboy? Where's he?"

"We… kinda had an argument. So Ah just walked away." She shrugged.

"He left y' walk around here alone? What is dat idiot thinkin'?"

"Hey, don't talk like that about mah…boyfriend." Rogue put her hand on her waist, trying to put a little more confidence on the last word.

"Yeah, whatever cherie." He said absently as he walked to his Harley. "Come, Remy will take y' home."

"Ah'm not getting in that bike with ya."

"Y' are too belle to be so stubborn." Remy rolled his eyes and walked to her.

"Hey, what ya think ya're… put me down!"

Remy put her over his shoulder and walked to his motorcycle that was parked across the street. She couldn't say it felt bad. It did feel annoying to be carried around like a baby but the scent of cinnamon and perfume and something else coming from his coat made her feel strangely relaxed. It made her feel she could stay a while like that, when he suddenly sat her down on his Harley.

"Now, y' put dat helmet on and behave while we head home, ok?" He almost sounded serious, but his heart stopping smirk ruined it.

"Ok." She whispered, still dizzy with the scent. It didn't help that he sat in front of her and placed her arms around his chest. His muscled hot chest. 'Gawd, what am Ah thinking? Control yerself girl!' she told herself.

"Hold on, cherie." He said through his own helmet as he started the motorcycle. The roar of the motor made her smile a bit. Logan had taught her to ride, but never in his bike, only the small ones, since he thought it was too dangerous for her yet. He'd kill Remy if he found out where she was sitting right now. Since she couldn't argue with Remy because of the noise, she just enjoyed the ride, trying to get her mind off the bad events of that night.

They arrived almost too soon. It took her a second to let go of him and stand up. She took off her helmet and realized Remy was smiling at her, which made her blush. She looked down and pretended to be cleaning her clothes so he wouldn't notice.

"Y'r face looks even prettier when y' blush, cherie."

'Crap.' Rogue thought.

"Ah'm not blushing, Ah'm just nervous about this ride. Ya don't drive very well."

He laughed and stood up as well, approaching her so their bodies would nearly press against each other. Rogue held her breath as she didn't expect that move. Her cheeks burned when she felt his eyes piercing hers.

"Non, y're blushin'." He whispered as he took the helmet off her hands and backed away. She let the air out of her lungs slowly and looked furious at him for a second, and then walked out of the garage, heading to the garden.

"Stop following meh, swamp rat."

"Belle, it hurts my feelings when y' talk like dat."

Rogue rolled her eyes and fastened her pace.

"Ah want to be alone, if ya haven't realized it yet!" She turned to look at him and saw no one. "Good." She whispered and walked to a bench under an oak tree.

She sat there for about 20 minutes and didn't realize someone was staring at her, sitting on a branch a few trees behind her.

Remy thought she had to be alone for a while. Maybe her fight with the Iceboy had been bad, after all. Although he still felt like breaking Bobby's face for leaving Rogue alone like he did, he decided to sit there to make sure she wasn't going to leave the mansion again or something like that.

'Y're being too careful about this fille, Remy.' He shoved this thought almost immediately after he had it. It was normal he didn't want a femme to get hurt. It wasn't like he was caring about her. Was it? He stopped his thoughts after he heard her hold back a cry without success and jumped off the tree in a fluid move. In less than a heartbeat he was at her side.

"Rogue?"

She jumped up, looking surprised at him.

"Ah thought Ah told ya to leave meh alone?"

"I just wanted to make sure y' were… cherie?" Remy looked concerned at her when he saw her watery eyes. "Hey, y' sure y' don't wanna talk 'bout it?" he whispered, still keeping his eyes on hers.

"No, Ah just…" he voice faltered as more tears strolled down her face. She sobbed and Remy held her right on time, before she fell on the grass. Soon his chest was wet with her tears. He had never been in this situation before, but he didn't feel uncomfortable. It almost felt like he was where he needed to be and like he knew what to do. Rogue kept crying as he stroked her head and back.

"Ah can't take this anymore. Ah hate it!" she finally managed to say.

"Hate what, cherie?" he whispered on the top of her head. It was when she realized how close they were and pulled away, frightened. He looked confused at her.

"Remy ain't gonna hurt y'. It's ok."

"It's not that. It's meh."

He kept looking confused and she sighed.

"Ah hate mahself, Remy. It's all mah fault."

He took a step closer, still not getting it and she pushed him.

"Rogue…"

"It's mah powers, Remy! That's why mah relation with Bobby is crashing. It's mah fault… Ah can't have skin contact to anyone without draining their life out of them, and their powers, if they are mutants. I'm a vampire, a life taker." She kept drying the tears off her face without success.

Remy finally understood her fear. The same fear he saw in her eyes when they first met. And whenever he got close to her. She wasn't scared of him, but of touching him. Of hurting him.

But somehow he didn't feel any fear in him. He grabbed her hand as she wiped another tear and her eyes widened.

"It's not y'r fault. Y' didn't choose dis. He is de jerk for treatin' y' like dis, instead of bein' here for y'. Remember dat."

"Why are ya still close to meh?" she asked as if she hadn't heard what he said. "Aren't ya scared of touching meh accidentally?"

Remy smiled sympathetically.

"Scared of such a belle fille? Y' think I'm crazy or what? And no Rogue, I'm not scared of touching y', whether by accident or not." As he said that, he wiped away another teardrop from her eye. It lasted less than a second, not enough to dry anything from him, but it made her heartbeat increase like crazy.

"Ah…Ah should go now. Jubilee must be worried that Ah still didn't arrive, and Bobby must have called her saying Ah'm missing. If that's true, Logan will be here by any minute." She pulled away from him and left without even looking back.

Remy didn't say a word, just stood there until she went inside. He was about to go to his room when a voice behind him whispered his name. A pair of red eyes looked at him from behind the dark trees.

"We need to talk." The voice said and Remy followed it.

* * *

**I'm very happy about this chap! Finally some good Romyness lol ... and Essex... he wasn't in my original plan but he seemed a very good idea for this story**

**it took me a while to update this one but i will write faster now, i promisse.**

**plzzz reviews! and thanks to everyone who sent me reviews already, i appreciate it :D**


	8. Silence in the darkness

_Disclaimer: i do not own the X-men... too bad =/_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chap. It makes my day =DD thanks thanks thanks._

_And i guess someone guessed right about the red eyes on the trees uhhhhh... here it comes!_

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Remy felt a shiver run down his spine when he heard that voice call his name. He kept following the dark figure walking in front of him until they got to a distant place among the forest next to the institute. It was very dark, since the moonlight couldn't get past the trees which were too close to each other. The man turned around and faced Remy. His pale skin seemed to reflect even the slightest ray of moonlight, and his red eyes emitted a glow of its own. He looked elegant but still mysterious in his black expensive clothes, and he seemed to radiate evil from his interested grin.

"So, LeBeau, you managed to get in. I saw you already started to have some fun." The man's cold voice made the darkness seem even deeper. Remy narrowed his eyes a bit. The presence of Nathaniel Essex always made him feel uneasy.

"What brings y' here, Essex? I'm doin' everyt'ing as planned."

"Just wanted to make sure of that. Don't forget the reason you're here. Work, not fun."

"Yeah, y' should know how Gambit works."

"I do know. Gambit works as I tell him to, if he wants to get paid and free." Essex had a smile on his face, but the words sounded like a real threaten. Remy clenched his fists and his eyes glowed.

"Y' promised dis would be the last one. Is it true?"

"Yes, it is. If you do everything according to the plan, of course."

"Gambit will, as he always does. How long d' I have t' stay here?"

"Maybe a month. I'm building Magneto's machine and finishing my own… project. I'll warn you when it's all ready. Meanwhile, look for the diamond and, most important, give me the file I asked for."

"I'll work on dat."

"Very good. Now go back there and win their trust. I have another business to finish here. Keep in touch." Essex added with a cold smile that showed no emotions at all. Remy nodded and turned around, trying to get as far from that man as possible, shivering as he thought about what else Essex was going to do at the Mansion's grounds.

It had been a long time they first met, and if he could turn back time he'd never make a deal with that man. Remy remembered how young and desperate he was when his powers ran out of control. Essex appeared to him and made an offer to give him control if he worked for him. Remy agreed and Essex removed the problematic part of his brain in exchange of favors. At the time, the jobs didn't seem a big deal, just stealing things from laboratories and giving him information. But one day, he got to Essex lab and found him doing experiences on corpses and still living creatures, mutants mostly. He remembered he couldn't sleep for several nights without having nightmares. It was when he decided to stop… but it wasn't this easy to get rid of Nathaniel Essex or, how Essex started to call himself after some time, Mr. Sinister.

'But dis is the las' job… den I'm free.' Remy thought.

* * *

As soon as Rogue stepped in the mansion, Logan showed up grabbing Bobby by his arm and pointing his claws at him. The boy seemed to be scared to death of even breathing.

"Should I finish him?" He asked in a conversation tone, as if asking about the weather. Rogue had to hold back the urge to laugh and tilted her head to the side.

"No Logan, it's alrahght. It'd be a mess to clean it up afterwards." She said while going upstairs. "But thanks for asking!" she said when she reached the top.

"Don't be too happy, bub. Tomorrow we got Danger Room and you'll be the target." She heard Logan say.

Rogue got to her room and was met by an anxious Jubilee and an upset Kitty.

"Rogue, I'm like soooo sorry about it. I didn't mean to cause trouble. Actually I was planning to go with the others, but Bobby heard the conversation and asked if he could take you. I didn't even like invite him in first place! Sorry!"

"It's ok, Kitty. Ah'm not mad at you." Kitty still looked worried but nodded.

"Chica, we went crazy here when Bobby arrived alone. He came to ask me if you had arrived yet but you were not here, so we tried to call you, but your mobile was off, and we went to talk to Wolvie about it, and he went crazy but the professor didn't let him cut Bobby's limbs…"

"Jubilee, breath!" Rogue was shocked at how many words her friend could say per second.

"Sorry, but we were so totally worried about you, Rogue." Jubilee took a deep breath and went on slower. "Ok, the professor calmed Logan down saying he sensed you were already coming back home. But everyone got pissed at Bobby for coming without you."

"Yeah, it was like so rude of him." Kitty said in agreement to Jubilee's words.

"Thanks gals." Rogue sighted heavily and sat on her bed. "Ah'm just disappointed about tonight. Ah thought it was gonna be special but… yeah, nothing comes out as we hope for, rahte?"

Both girls sat by her side and put their arms around her, trying to give some comfort. They stayed like that for a while, with Kitty still giving her concerned looks and apologizing, until Jubilee asked how Rogue had come back.

"Ah… Ah got a ride home." She tried to sound uninterested.

"With who?" Kitty asked. Rogue bit her lip knowing what was about to come.

"Remy." She whispered. Jubilee stared at her in delight and sat straight on the bed.

"Tell us about it! Now!"

"Jubs, really, Ah'm not in the mood now. Ah promise tomorrow Ah'll tell ya girls everything ya ask, but Ah need some rest. It's been a weird night."

"Ok, but don't even think about running away from us tomorrow." Rogue nodded and went to the bathroom to get changed. She stayed there for a while, thinking about the things Bobby said to her. A tear formed in her eye, but she quickly wiped it away.

'No more crying for him. Ah had enough. It's not lahke he deserves any tear of mine.'

While taking her shirt off, she still felt a familiar smell lingering to it. She inhaled it and closed her eyes. How could any smell in this world be so relaxing and yet so… exciting? She snapped her eyes open and threw the shirt away.

"What am Ah thinking? Argh, damn swamp rat and his crazy voodoo smells." She whispered bitterly.

'He was very sweet in the end though.' A voice said in the back of her head, against her will.

"Doesn't change the fact he is a freaking pervert. Just trying to get some." She replied to herself while putting her pajamas on. But then, she remembered how he had not been scared of her even after finding out about her mutation. In fact, he even touched her! Even if she didn't want to, she felt grateful for his gesture.

She came out of the bathroom and found Kitty had gone to her room, and Jubilee was already lying down, reading a book. She got on her own bed and turned on her alarm.

"Rogue?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't pay attention to Bobby. He is being a jerk." She lowered her book and stared right into Rogue's eyes.

"Ah know."

"You still look upset."

"Ah know… sorry, it's just Ah feel it's not totally his fault, ya know? Ah mean, how can Ah blame him?"

"Why would it be your fault?"

"You know why. Ah can't blame him for being scared of mah powers. Ah put people into coma before. It's normal he wants to be around a girl who can have physical contact to him."

"Rogue, first of all: not your fault. Second: a relationship is not only about touching. Not a real thing, at least. If he is acting like that, he doesn't deserve you. And else, if he wants it to be that way, why doesn't he just break up and does what he thinks it's better instead of torturing you? Sorry, but it's better to be alone than in a relationship based in fights."

Rogue got silent after that and just stared at the ceiling, thinking about her friend's words and what Remy had said earlier. She finally realized it really wasn't her fault. Bobby was free to go, but still he chose to stay with her. So if he wanted to be her boyfriend, why didn't he behave like one?

"Thanks, Jubs." She whispered.

"You're welcome, girl." Jubilee said and then yawned. "Good night."

"You too." Rogue closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Remy finally got to the mansion, after having a smoke outside. A few kids were around, but most of the students were already in bed, since it was Sunday. He went to his room feeling weary after his talk to Sinister. It always seemed to drain all his energy out of him. But this time, a small light seemed to keep his mind out of the complete darkness. He gave a weak smile when he remembered Rogue's face blushing after he took her helmet from her hands, and then walking away looking agitated.

"Cajun!" he heard a voice, or more likely a growl, behind him. When he turned around, he found the wolf man coming in his direction.

"Oui?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the short guy.

"What were you doing with Rogue? She was covered with your smell." Logan asked straight ahead, looking angry.

"I brought her home, mon ami. Anyt'ing wrong 'bout it?"

Logan looked at him, evaluating whether to trust him or not.

"No, but you better stay away from her. I've seen kinds like you before in my life, bub, and your smell doesn't lie. She is not the type of woman you are used to, so watch it!"

Remy looked amused at him.

"Is she your daughter or what?"

"She is like one to me, and I'll rip your head off if you treat her the wrong way. Get it? You're new here and let me tell ya, I don't trust you."

"Merci fo' y'r confidence in me, Logan. Now, she is safe and warm in her room, so I t'ink y' should be a lil' less aggressive, non?"

Logan glared at him.

"Don't forget what I just told you, Cajun." He gave Remy one last glare and left. Remy chuckled at the short man's attitude and went to his room, winking at the girls passing by on his way.

While he was taking a shower, he thought what else Essex would be doing at the institute. Nothing good, for sure. He sighed and got his head under the hot water, while closing his eyes and trying to get the horrible images out of his mind.

A dark shadow walked on the garden outside the mansion, scaring away the owls and sleepy birds on the trees. Sinister stopped in front of a dark stone, in which a name was written: Jean Grey. He stood there for a moment, and then started digging. It took a while but finally the shovel hit something hard. After he removed the coffin from its hole, he touched it and smiled when he felt the power emanating from it.

'Yes, just as expected.' A cold smile formed again on his lips and he opened the coffin. There, lying peacefully was Jean Grey, looking exactly like the way she was buried… maybe even better. Her pink lips were slightly parted and her chest was moving.

'She breathes. Her powers are even stronger than I imagined.' He was amazed at how great she was looking, not dead, but only asleep.

He reached to touch her arm but backed away instantly. She was burning. Sinister's hand healed quickly and he took of his coat, wrapping it around her and removing her carefully from the coffin. With a movement of his hand, the coffin went back to its hole, and the earth from above it as well, looking like it had been untouched.

"Now my dear, you will serve my purposes." His eyes sparkled and he walked away, carrying Jean in his arms.

The next morning, Rogue was one of the first at the mansion to wake up. It was already a habit to wake at 5a.m. on Mondays since all the students would gather in the kitchen later. She found it to be more comfortable sitting by herself and eating peacefully instead of dodging out of the other kids' way. She brushed her teeth slowly, still feeling half asleep, put her gloves on and then walked down to the kitchen still on her nightgown.

Outside it was strangely silent. Usually at this time birds would be singing and flying around to the first rays of sun. But today they all seemed to be silent. Rogue found it kinda creepy somehow but decided it should be because of the strong wind, which seemed to be mourning outside. She got to the kitchen and set a bowl of milk and cereal for her. Suddenly, she felt a tingle on her back as if she was being watched. She turned around and had to hold back a scream as two red eyes stared right at her from the darkness. The bowl slipped from her hands just in the moment she realized it was just Remy sitting alone on the table by the window.

"Damn, swamp rat! Are ya trying ta give meh a heart attack or what?" she gritted her teeth when he just smirked at her angry face.

"Sorry cherie, Remy jus' ran out o' words when he saw y' in dese clothes. Didn't want t' spoil de moment." He stood up and walked in her direction. "Need any help t' clean dat?" he asked pointing at the pieces of glass mixed with milk and cereal.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Rogue stated, deciding to ignore his comment about her clothes. Remy held his breath for a second as she kneeled down to clean the floor, and dirty thoughts filled his mind.

'Damn, she looks hot in dis gown. Wonder how she'd look without it tho.' he thought.

After a few minutes of silence cleaning the floor, Rogue finally spoke.

"Remy?"

"Humm..?"

"…thanks for last night. It was… kind of you." She said, feeling uncertain about which words to use. Remy stood up from where he was cleaning and offered her a hand to stand up, that she took without complaining.

"Dat's no problem, Rogue." He looked seriously into her eyes. "I've been dere. Y' know, de not being able t' touch t'ing."

"Really?" she sounded surprised that someone actually had also gone through that.

"Oui, many years ago. But I got help, so… I think it may be jus' what y' need. Some help."

"Yeah, the Professor has been helping meh since Ah got here."

"Well, don't give up den cherie. Wish I also had someone wit' good intentions t' help me." He gave her a little nod of his head and turned around. "Now, to repair all the damage I caused t' y'r breakfast, what y' say about trying some nice Cajun breakfast?"

"Ya can cook?" Rogue asked and chuckled.

"Of course, cherie. Every man should be able t'. Makes de girls happy." He winked at her and clapped his hands. "Now, sit and relax while I make y'r breakfast, belle."

Rogue's mouth quickly filled with water as Remy put two huge plates with smoked sausages, spicy omelet and beignets in front of her, and a cup of coffee with milk with a light scent of vanilla and cinnamon.

"Enjoy." He said seeing the starveling look on Rogue's face. She attacked the plates without a word and moaned at the first bite she took.

"It's… amazing, swamp rat! Where did ya learn this?" she managed to say while filling her mouth with omelet and sausages.

"I had a good teacher. My Tante Mattie can cook pretty much anyt'ing y' like. She taught me only a bit, but I guess y' like it, eh?"

Rogue nodded and took a large gulp of the cup. Remy sat in front of her and just watched as she ate, carefully following every movement of her lips. Rogue didn't notice that as she was too focused on her beignets.

When she was nearly done, they heard steps running down the stairs.

"Man, who's cooking today? Not Mr. Summers for sure." A boy's voice exclaimed.

"Yeah, it like woke me up. What smell is this?" Another voice replied, this time a girl.

Rogue lifted her head to see when Kitty, Lorna, Sam and Jubilee came into the kitchen. They stopped when they saw who was in there.

"Ohhhh, are we disturbing?" Jubilee teased and sat by Rogue's side, getting a glare from the other girl.

"Non petite, we were already done." Remy gave her a sensuous smile.

"Oh please!" Rogue rolled her eyes. "He just fixed me breakfast after making me break a bowl of cereal."

"It was you who was cooking?" Sam asked wide-eyed, a hint of southern accent to his voice.

"Oui."

"Maaaan, finally a guy who can actually cook around here! We usually just get some cereals."

"True! Is there anything left for us?" Lorna asked and leaned over Remy, trying to look sexy. He didn't really pay attention to that and got up.

"Not really. A few more minutes and Rogue woul' have eaten her plate." The others laughed but sat down looking disappointed at the plates. "But I can cook some m're if y' want." At that, all of them cheered.

"Oh and Mr. Remy, you should like cook a lot because everyone seemed to wake up early today, and it's your foods fault."

"Call me Remy, petite. And I t'ink I'll need a hand if y'all want t' eat dat much food."

Lorna, Kitty and Jubilee ran to his side and looked anxious for instructions. Sam just chuckled and sat back while Rogue ran upstairs to shower and put her normal clothes on. Before she left, Remy gave her one last look and smiled to himself.

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**i hope everyone liked this chap! i loved writting it... finally Remy and Rogue getting to spend some time together, without her getting mad haha Seems Remy is about to get popular, what will Bobby think about it? **

**plzzzz review, because i love it and it makes me update faster =P**

**thanks for reading**


	9. Wounds

**I hope everyone likes this chap. The fighting scene was a bit hard for me to write, but i guess it came out pretty ok. Write what you think ;)**

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By the time Rogue finally got downstairs, she could hear loud voices in the kitchen. When she got in, it seemed half of the kids in the institute were there, looking delighted they had a decent breakfast at last. The only one looking a bit angry at his plate was Bobby, sitting in a further corner with Piotr keeping him company.

"Now, THIS is cooking! Not some radioactive pancakes SOME PEOPLE around here pretend to cook." Jubilee said out loud, giving a quick glance in Bobby's direction. He exhaled heavily, freezing his half eaten waffle and throwing it in her direction. Seconds before it hit her head, Logan passed the space between them and caught it with his claws, snarling at Bobby.

"Don't forget your Danger Room session today, bub." He said menacing.

At that Jubilee turned her head to look at Bobby and stuck her tongue out at him.

"That was very mature, sugah." Rogue said, sitting in front of Jubilee, who was also sitting with Lorna, Kitty and Sam.

"Actually, I wouldn't have expected anything different from her." Lorna teased, finishing her beignets. Rogue shook her head and stared at the empty plates in front of her.

"Seems some people are gonna gain weigh if Remy cooks everyday."

"I won't mind. It's like the best food I had in years. And besides… I think he only cooked in first place because he had some…motivation." Kitty flashed a smile in Rogue's direction and the others laughed, making Rogue roll her eyes. As she did that, she caught a glimpse of a smile on Remy's face, who was sitting on a table with Ororo, the Professor, Scott and Hank. Rogue lowered her eyes, feeling a bit weird that he had been looking at her.

"So Remy, what do you think of the school so far?" Charles asked him from across the table.

"It looks pretty good, professeur. It's good t' know dere's someone to look after all dese kids. An' de place is great too."

"Yes, the main reason the Institute exists is to make sure these kids have someone to help them with their powers. Not all parents are comprehensive with their mutations, or even able to help."

"This is a refuge to most of them." Ororo completed.

Remy's eyes were focused on his plate, so they didn't see the sad look in his red eyes.

"Oui, de world's pretty cruel t' mutants, specially de ones who can't control their powers." Remy muttered.

"The world's not cruel Remy, they just don't understand. People fear what they fail to understand." Hank said.

'So they open y'r brain t' study y' an' _understand_ y'.' Remy thought bitterly, running his hand through his hair and feeling a small scar nearly on the back of his head. Ororo saw his muscles tense and his eyes glow slightly. It wasn't hard to realize he had been through some bad moments in his life, and even his handsome face still carried some pain and even anger at some moments.

Ororo put a hand on his shoulder and whispered. "Whatever happened out there is in the past Remy. We all look after each other here." Remy lifted his eyes and met her blue ones, who looked sympathetically at him. There, he saw a sweetness he had never seen in his life and felt she cared, for real.

"Merci, Ororo." He said honestly. However, he knew whatever happened out there still wasn't in his past. It was a sad part of his present.

But then he looked past Ororo's shoulder and saw Rogue. A sly smile broke through his lips before he could help himself as she rolled her eyes to something Kitty said. It seemed his present wasn't that bad.

Ororo followed his gaze and smiled knowingly. Remy felt strangely embarrassed at that, so he stood up and told them he needed to get ready for his evaluation session in the Danger Room.

Walking out of the kitchen, he saw all girls' heads turn to look at him. All except from one. The one head with light auburn hair and white stripes on it.

After Lorna had finished drooling over Remy passing their table, she turned to Rogue.

"So, about yesterday…"

"Oh, no. Jubs, ya already told everyone?"

"Since when keeping secrets is part of her?" Sam asked chuckling but Jubilee just shrugged.

"You said it was no big deal. So, if nothing happened, why should it be a secret, right?"

Lorna agreed and sat straight on her chair.

"Bobby was a jerk, we know that already. I mean, he shouldn't have let you walk away on your own. Although I also think you shouldn't have gotten that mad at him."

"Lorna, he had that coming to him. It was so like insensitive." Kitty looked in disbelief at her friend. The other girl just waved her hand and went on.

"How did you get Remy to give you a ride? And how did he find you?"

"Ah found him, actually. Kinda. Ah was sitting on the sidewalk and a man started ta bug meh, and Remy showed up right at that moment. It was more lahke a coincidence. So he offered meh a ride home on his bike. To be exact, he dragged meh home, 'cause Ah could've taken a bus or something."

"So he like saved you! That's sweet!"

"Kitty, Ah didn't need to be saved! Ah'm not exactly a princess in danger and ya know that."

"Whatever, it was sweet anyways." Kitty said and the girls nodded.

"Did he hit on you?"

"Jubilee!"

"Did he?"

"Hmm… yeah. It was annoying."

Lorna's jaw dropped and she raised her eyebrows.

"Annoying? Rogue, what's on your mind? The new hot guy hits on you and you think it's annoying?"

"Just because he looks ok he has the right to say anything he likes to meh?"

"Forget it. Did you feel his abs or chest while riding on the bike?"

"Ok, that's enough for now. Ah need ta get ready for my classes." Rogue stood, making the other girls look disappointed.

"But Rogue…"

"Jubilee, let the girl breath." Sam said and smiled reassuringly at Rogue.

"Thanks, Sam." She winked at the blonde boy and walked away. He seemed to be the only one able to hold back Jubilee, at least for a while. They were totally the opposite. While Jubilee was full of energy all the time, bouncing around and talking like crazy, Sam was a quiet and shy boy, but still sweet and gentle. Rogue felt they were perfect for each other, though Jubilee still didn't realize Sam had a crush on her.

"Rogue!" she heard someone's voice behind her right before she got into her room. Turning around, she saw Bobby walking down the corridor in her direction.

"What do ya want?"

"Hey, I'd like to talk to you about yesterday. You shouldn't have gone away like that."

"Bobby, we got nothing to talk to each other. Please, leave." She didn't feel like looking at him, so imagine talking to him. Their relationship had hit a critical point the day before, and she wasn't feeling like trying anymore. Not after what he had said to her.

"I need to talk to you Rogue."

"Be fast then. What is it?"

"I want a break. I am tired and need time to think about everything that has been going on and …"

"Oh, so YA need a break? Fine!" The blood seemed to boil in Rogue's veins when she heard what he just said. She entered her room and slammed the door on Bobby's face.

She growled and lay on her bed, trying to calm down but failing.

'What the heck is he thinking? Talking like he is the one needing a break, like it's my fault this is not working. He needs a break? So he messes everything and HE needs a break from meh?'

She punched her pillow and inhaled slowly, finally calming down.

"Ya know what, Bobby? Take all the time ya want, because Ah don't care anymore." She whispered and made her way to her first class.

* * *

Later that day, Remy headed to the Danger Room, slightly nervous about what to expect from it. He changed into his usual uniform he brought with him and put his trench coat over it.

"Cajun, you ain't going to a party, it's just training." Logan said, getting in the changing room as well.

"A homme always has to look charmin', mon ami. Besides, de trench coat is not jus' f'r de looks. It's where I keep my cards."

"Cards?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see." Remy told him with a devilish grin on his lips and made his way to the metallic doors, with Logan by his side.

"So, you have any experience in fights?"

"Y' can say so, yeah." Remy shrugged.

The doors opened and revealed a large round room, with metallic walls. A large glass window was to the right, at about 8 meters from the ground. It didn't look menacing to Remy since it was just a huge empty place.

"So, what happens here?" he asked, walking to the middle and looking around, searching for something unusual.

"We fight. Get ready Gambit." Wolverine said and his claws came out with a snikt. "Simulation number 4, start!" he said out loud and Remy gasped as the room changed around him.

The walls around him seemed to fade away, and it suddenly seemed they were in the top of a building at night. Remy was still surprised about it when Wolverine jumped in his direction. He only had a second to dodge and avoid being shred to pieces. The other man was surely pretty dangerous for such a short guy. He ran to Remy again and jumped, but this time Remy was prepared. His hands barely moved and a charged card flew in Wolverine's direction, throwing him from the edge of the building. He gained his balance and used his claws to avoid falling. Gambit thought he had fallen, so he just walked to the edge of the building, getting his bo-staff and extending it on his way. Before he could look down though, Wolverine jumped up and Gambit only had the opportunity to use his staff to block the attack and fell on his back. Wolverine was still on top of him and the only thing keeping the claws from Gambit's face was his staff. He used his legs to push Logan backward and got up, only to block another attack. This time he swung the staff and leapt Logan off his feet. He threw another charged card at Logan, who rolled to his side and avoided it.

Remy threw another one but Logan stood and used his claws to tear the card apart before it exploded. He took advantage of Remy's surprise and attacked again. Remy then decided to use his reflexes and kept dodging Logan's furious attacks, twirling his staff. The more Remy hit Wolverine, the angrier he seemed to get and faster he attacked. After a few minutes, the fight seemed a frenetic dance, and neither of them had much time to think. Both were fast opponents. The difference was Logan would use his strength to attack Remy, and Remy used his agility to dodge and attack as well. The problem was Logan didn't seem to get tired. Every wound he received healed very fast, while Remy already had several cuts on his chest, arms and legs. None of them was serious, except from a painful one on his arm, but they were surely making him loose his velocity. He decided it was time to attack as well.

He charged a handful of cards and threw them in Logan's direction, and at the same time used his staff to impulse himself, hitting Logan's chest with both feet. He then aimed at his face and kicked it. What he didn't expect was the feeling of kicking a metal bar. The sting of pain on his foot made him nearly fall back, and gave Logan the time to stand, grab him by the coat and point his claws at his neck.

"Adamantium bones, bub. Ever heard of it?"

"Non, but it surely hurts." Remy was still breathing heavily and flinching.

"Now, you lost." Logan said.

At that, Remy just raised an eyebrow.

"Y' sure, mon ami?"

As he said that, Logan had the feeling of something warm beneath his skin, coming from his hand. He looked down and saw that his claws were glowing in a bright magenta color, right where Remy was touching.

"Now, y' see… y' could kill me, but it wouldn't be very smart. Y' can heal, but I don't think y'r body would heal if it was reduced t' exploded pieces. What y' think?" Remy's grin grew wider and wider as he saw Logan's anger showing on his face.

After a while standing like that, Logan let go of Remy's coat and smiled slightly.

"Y' fight good, kid."

"Merci."

"Now, can you pull that back?" he grunted, his smile disappearing.

Remy chuckled and the glow faded. Logan retracted his claws and headed for the door as the simulation ended and the room got back to what it was before.

"So, do I get a feedback?" Remy asked.

"I said you fight good. That was your feedback, Cajun."

"I'll consider dat good as an amazing compliment coming from y'."

"Yeah, whatever. You should go to the Med Lab to check those cuts." Logan said from over his shoulder and left.

Remy stood there feeling worn out. That was one hell of a fight. He decided to head to the Med Lab as his arm pained more.

The Med Lab was located down the corridor behind an elegant glass doors which opened when Remy approached them.

"Hello, Mr. LeBeau. What brings you to my humble laboratory?" Hank McCoy asked coming from behind a desk next to the further wall.

"Monsieur Claws." He answered, pointing to the large cut on his arm.

"Oh, I guess it was your first training session?" Remy nodded. "That was a minor damage, compared to some other occasions. Sit on that bed and I'll see what I can do."

Hank then turned around to get some medical stuff on a cabinet, and Remy was able to see what was on the desk.

A small yellow stone shone brightly amongst a few strange equipments. Remy's heart skipped a beat as he realized it was the gem he needed to steal.

'Not yet.' He thought, closing his hand and looking away. Hank walked to him and started to clean his cut. Remy didn't really feel good in that laboratory. It brought some bad memories but he tried to remain calm, thinking he was safe there and not in the hands of some mad scientist anymore.

"Well, this will do. You only needed three stitches, so that was a good start with Logan." Hank gave him a positive nod of the head and took the equipment away. "If you need anything else, you can come and see me. Don't be shy." Hank smiled to Remy, realizing the boy was sitting stiff on the bed, looking nervous.

Remy thanked Hank and took a deep breath before standing.

"As long as I don't have t' face de needles again, I can pay y' a visit." He tried to joke but his voice was weaker than usual. At that, Hank laughed and came closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't need to worry, Remy. Hospitals are not as bad as they seem. Try not to get hurt and you'll be able to stay away for a while, though it's not an easy task if you live here. If it makes you feel better… here." He took a candy from his pocket. "It always makes the kids feel better."

Remy couldn't hold back a snort. "Yeah, make fun of dis poor Cajun."

Hank tapped his shoulder and went back to his desk.

"Hmm… I guess I'll be goin' now. Merci for de…stitches."

"You're welcome. See you later Remy."

Remy gave one last look to the diamond on the table and left.

Hank lowered his head and went back to analyzing the diamond. It came out that whenever Hank applied some kind of energy to it, it seemed to reflect that energy ten times stronger.

He believed it was probably because of the shape of it. The thing is that if such a small gem could do that, what the bigger one could do was a scary thought. And the use Magneto could find for it was even scarier.

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**Ok, i just imagined Remy going to the dentist and getting a lollipop lol it's a cute scene so i had to write something like that haha =P**

**more romyness on the next chap... be ready!**

**plz review**


	10. Meetings

**I'm really feeling bad this chap took so long to come out, but i was blocked, and also my university demands a lot from me. But still, i'm happy with this one chap. I really hope you guys like it too and review plzzzz**

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Mr. Sinister walked around his laboratory looking unsatisfied about something. He stopped on his tracks and looked at the body lying on the table. Jean Grey was in a deep induced coma since he found her, and Sinister wondered if it was a defense mechanism that provided that. However, whenever he tried touching her, her body would heat up immediately making it impossible for him to stand too close.

"You are indeed amazing, Miss Grey. Amazing." He said with a cold expression.

He needed to be able to touch her for his experiments, but her own body wouldn't let him. That was a frustrating situation for Mr. Sinister but he was determined to find a way through that problem. Perhaps, if there was a way to make the Phoenix back away…

He picked up his mobile phone and dialed a number.

"LeBeau. Of course it's me. I need those files as soon as possible." He paused and rolled his eyes. "I don't care how you'll do it, but get them. And don't get caught or your disguise is over. And so is our deal." He hung up and sat in front of the cold metal table Jean was on.

'Too bad he wants to leave. Such a talent. A rebel for sure but still… maybe if I offer him something.' An evil grin showed on his pale face, but his eyes remained dead somehow. 'Yes, he won't be able to refuse that. After all _he_ needs _his_ riders…not for long of course, but he will need them in the beginning. And then…" A dark laugh broke out of his thin lips and this time his eyes glowed a sick red, while he looked at Jean Grey.

* * *

"Merde." Remy got up from his bed where he had been sleeping for a few hours. He looked at the clock on the desk and saw it was only 2a.m.. His body still hurt from the earlier training session, and all he really wanted right now was a good night sleep. But there was work to be done. Dirty work.

He put a shirt and his trench coat on and washed his face to clear his mind. Getting those files was not an easy task and he knew that. He had a clue they were in the Professor's office, since his own file was there. When he visited that office for the first time, he made sure to memorize everything he could, including the place where his file was placed.

Remy carefully opened his door and looked to both sides of the corridor, checking if they were empty before walking out. His feet barely seemed to touch the floor, making no noise at all, and his red eyes searched for any movement in the dark. Reaching the ground floor, Remy headed to Professor Xavier's office. The door was locked but he already expected that. He pulled out two clips out of his back pocket and started to move them as if he had done that hundreds of times before. The door made a clicking noise and Remy opened it slowly. It was darker there since the curtains were closed, but his eyes were very sensitive in the dark, and that was not a big problem. He walked straight to the filing cabinet and went through it with his experienced fingers.

'Grey, Jean…' he pulled it out and kept going through the files. 'Summers, Scott. Done.'

He closed the drawer and walked out of the room with the files in his trench coat. All went as planned until he passed in front of the kitchen.

"Remy?" Rogue called him and he only had half a second to put away his surprise and look calmly at her.

"Hey, belle. What are y' doing up dis late?" it took a lot out of him to maintain a confident voice, and it didn't help the fact she moved closer.

"Just needed some water." She eyed him suspiciously. "What about ya?" she looked back to the way he had come from but Remy quickly moved closer, regaining her attention.

"Jus' needed a walk. I usually stay awake at night." He shot her a charming smile, but she still had a serious face on.

"Oh, Ah see… but you know, the Professah doesn't allow us to walk around the ground corridors and class rooms at night. Just the kitchen." Inside, Remy was scared to death that all his effort was going to waste if she told that to Xavier. He would surely find his attitude very suspicious and check his office. He decided using his charm would be the best option to escape this situation.

"Hmm, I guess I forgot 'bout dat. Y' won't tell him, will y'?" He moved closer to her and forced Rogue to lean on the kitchen's doorframe so their bodies wouldn't touch.

Her eyes showed confusion for a second and Remy took that opportunity to put a hand on her waist. Before he could reach it though Rogue slapped his hand and stepped to the side.

Remy could almost feel her slipping through his fingers and that annoyed him.

"What?" he asked.

"Is it that hard to keep yer hands ta yerself? How many times do Ah have ta tell you Ah don't want ya getting this close ta meh?" She tried not to say that out loud, but her face was clearly angry. "It's getting on mah nerves!"

"Does Remy make y' nervous, cherie?" he walked in her direction again.

Rogue sighed and took a step back. "Remy, go ta bed. Ah won't tell the Professah ya were walking around at night, ok? Just don't do it again."

"Merci cherie." He bows to her and Rogue tries hard not to laugh at that.

"Yeah, save it. Ah'll go ta bed now. Good night." She walks up the stairs and Remy checks her out for a moment before making a decision.

"Wait." He climbs the steps between them and offers his arm. "May I walk y' t' your room?"

"You know, you don't need ta do this. Ah told ya Ah won't tell the Professor ya broke the rules." She patted his arm and left before he could reply.

Remy stood there feeling disconcerted until what happened finally hit him.

'Ok, dat was a bit …' he tried to find the right word for it while walking to his room, but couldn't think of any. Now not only his arm was hurt but also his ego.

He put the files in his underwear drawer, and lay down.

"Unexpected." He whispered. Yes, that was an appropriate word.

'Dis fille becomes more intriguing each time I meet her. Very beautiful, but a sphinx. Never had dis trouble t' read a fille.' He wondered why not even his empathy would work properly around her. It was confusing. With those thoughts, he drifted to sleep.

Rogue had a little more trouble to get to sleep. So far, she thought Remy was a nice person. But the way he kept trying to charm her was getting annoying. There were so many girls for him to play around at the mansion, so why her? He could only be joking since she had already told him she was dangerous to be around with, but it made her uncomfortable… and annoyed of course. She always tried to keep a distance from people and there he was, the new guy, invading her personal space. Touching was an issue for her and the flirting seemed like a bad joke. Where was he planning to get to with that, anyways?

She rolled on her bed and thought the way she dismissed him was a bit rude, but needed. He had to get a clue that he had to back away a little.

And the fact he looked so hot didn't help her. Her boyfriend… ex-boyfriend… just acted like a jerk towards her, and Remy's flirting was just another reminder of what she would never have. The love and affection of a man. Having someone to desire her for real, instead of being afraid of her touch.

She decided thinking about it was a bad idea, because she had classes the next morning. Besides, self pity was not healthy.

'Damn new guy. Why couldn't it be someone normal?' She rolled on her bed a few times again until her eyes finally closed and she fell asleep.

* * *

"Rogue, hurry up or we are going to be late for Hank's test!" Jubilee called Rogue again while poking her arm. They were the last ones to arrive at the kitchen and they had only 5 minutes before the chemistry test started.

"Ok, Ah'm done. Let's go!" Rogue grabbed her backpack and ran out of the kitchen with Jubilee by her side.

"Geez, you're looking like you didn't sleep at all chica. What happened?"

"Nightmares." Rogue simply stated, striding down the corridor.

"About…?"

"Just the usual." Jubilee lowered her sunglasses and crooked an eyebrow, but Rogue didn't slow down, so she decided it would be better not to press it any further.

Indeed, her nightmares were just the usual. Cody and Bobby being drained by her by accident, while she tried to push them away, only to find out that she was actually pulling them closer, tightening the grip on their arms. Both started to fade away and she could hear their voices inside her head, crying of pain and anger. Their voices kept repeating how they tried to escape her but she kept going after them, only to fulfill her desire for energy. At that point, she woke up with her alarm clock, looking confused and lost.

Rogue sat at her desk in Hank's class, getting ready for the test. She was barely paying attention as he explained what they had to do, and distractedly grabbed the instruments she needed to do a certain experiment. Her mind was still focused in her dreams and its meaning. She assumed it meant that she was selfish, putting all the boys she liked in danger, just to satisfy her need to be loved. She didn't want to hurt them, and yet she wanted to keep them close.

Rogue thought it wasn't fair to go after Bobby after he clearly demonstrated he didn't feel comfortable towards her powers. She didn't have the right to impose her presence, and force him to be with her when he clearly didn't want to. She would let him go for his own sake, even though she was still mad about the way he acted.

'Ah can't completely blame him.'

BOOM!

Half of the class screamed in panic and the other half started to laugh as Rogue's chemistry glassware exploded and she fell of her chair right onto her bum.

"Whoa!" Hank ran to her side and helped her up. "Are you okay, Rogue?"

"Yeah, a bit scared. What was that?" she asked pointing to her desk.

"It seems you put twice the dosage of acid you were supposed to…" he said analyzing the contents on half of the glass that was on the table, containing a bright yellow liquid. "And the temperature is not right either." He censored her with a look, turning off the Bunsen burner.

"Oh! Sorry, Mr. McCoy, Ah was a bit… distracted. Ah didn't sleep properly." She looked ashamed at the dirty floor.

"I'm afraid I can't do anything about it, but give you an appropriate grade."

Rogue sighed and started cleaning the mess, while the other students laughed and went back to their own experiments.

After class, all the students left quickly, including Jubilee who had forgotten half of her books upstairs. Rogue took a little while to collect her stuff and pack everything.

"Rogue, may I talk to you?"

"Yes, sure Mr. McCoy." She looked at him, worried if he would say anything about the previous accident.

"You said you didn't sleep properly… is there any reason?"

She was caught off guard with that question and took a while to think of an answer.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound indiscreet. It's just the Professor mentioned he has been worried about you, since he feels your mind a bit insecure and troubled lately. Very insecure to be honest. So he asked us to help you if you need an advice or maybe just a chat."

"It's ok. Ah just had some nightmares… guess Ah ate too much before sleep. Don't worry about it." She forced a smile to her face, hoping it would look honest.

"Ok, you don't need to talk to me about it if you don't want to. I just wanted to let you know there are people here for you if you need. Maybe the Professor is a more appropriate person to talk to, since he knows a lot about how to help people with their thoughts." He smiled gently at her, adjusting his glasses to his face.

"Thanks, Mr. McCoy. Really." Her smile wasn't forced now and her eyes were warmer.

"No problem. By the way, you can do you test again tomorrow afternoon. Just make sure you concentrate this time, ok? And don't tell the other students about it or they will all complain about not sleeping properly." he winked and tapped her shoulder.

"Okay." She chuckled and left the classroom.

'Thank god there are decent teachers in this world' she thought.

Upstairs, Remy left his bathroom with a towel around his waist, followed by a cloud of steam. He put his jeans and a dark red shirt on, followed by his inseparable trench coat. Then he finished drying his dripping hair and threw the towel over his messed bed. Cleaning his room was not something he would do if he could avoid, especially when there were many other interesting things to be done.

He grabbed his helmet and his motorcycle keys, and left. Today he was going to pay a visit to Magneto to tell him about everything that had been going on. Also, he had to give the files he had gotten the night before to Sinister. He felt his gut turn at that thought, but fought that feeling and made his way downstairs. As soon as he stepped on the main floor, Rogue walked past him in a hurry, checking her clock.

Today he thought she looked quite… mouthwatering. Her hair was kinda messed up and tangled. She was wearing tight black jeans and a white tank top that showed her perfect curves. The only thing on his way was a black coat she was wearing that covered her arms, but still highlighted her chest. He found the look on her face quite entertaining as well, for she looked a bit flustered and distracted, and a delicate frown showed on her face.

Suddenly (or maybe it was God's will in favor of Remy) one of her books fell from her hands and she bowed to get it. Remy felt that everything started moving oh so slowly as she bent down. His eyes glowed a deep red and a silent moan escaped his lips. All he wanted to do right now was to jump in her direction and…

"Hey, get out of the way!" said a teenager boy, pushing past Remy.

Remy realized he had been standing at the bottom of the stairs with a hungry look on his face and a line of kids was forming behind him, trying to get downstairs. He moved out of the way but when he looked back at Rogue she had already entered a classroom and disappeared.

He sighed and went back to his business, heading to the garage and hopping on his bike. He decided after he got his business done he was going to the city to get some new clothes and stuff for his room. And maybe grab a beer or two.

Remy parked outside the building Magneto had been hiding and went in without knocking.

"Ohhh-Frenchie-is-back-in-town!" Pietro rushed past him.

"Yeah, better hide your sister." John lazily said from the couch he was sitting at. Pietro ran to his side and slapped the back of his head.

"Watch-it!"

"Hello, mes amis. I see y' all missed dis ol' Cajun, heh?"

"Don't put money into that." John replied, not moving his eyes from the TV. Remy chuckled.

"So, where is y'r sister, Pietro?" Remy smirked at the silver haired mutant in front of him, who just glared at him.

"It's-none-of-your-business."

"It's ok, I came here t' talk to your father anyways." He turned and walked upstairs, knocking on Magneto's office door.

"Come in." A deep voice came from inside.

Remy went in and saw Magneto sitting on a couch with a book in his hands.

"Hello, Gambit. Sit down." He said, pointing at the chair in front of him. Remy did as he said and got ready for the questions. "So, how is Charles? Alive and well?"

"Oui, very well f'r what I could see. He didn't suspect anything so far though."

"That's good. He didn't feel uncomfortable about not being able to read your mind?"

"I guess he did, but probably he thought it was part o' my powers, and not something I can control. He already got me t' train so he coul' see if my abilities are good enough f'r the X-Men."

"Now, that is better than what I expected. Make sure you gain his confidence and enter the team. He is testing your abilities, but he will only let you be in the team when he trusts you and your capacity."

"Don' worry, dat'll be easy."

He stayed in that room for about one hour, telling every detail of what happened so far to Magneto, when the old man finally let him go. He decided he should grab something to eat in the kitchen before leaving to meet Sinister. There, he met Wanda, who was finishing a cup of coffee and staring at the floor, her mind somewhere else.

"Hey petite. Missed Remy?"

"Yeah, I could barely stand the hours without you." She said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"I know I'm dat good." He smirked and got himself an apple.

She gave him an ironic smile.

"So you and Erik were talking upstairs?"

"Yep." He looked at her in thought. "Why don't y' call him dad anyways?"

She snorted and took a seat.

"Let's say he is not much the dad type and I'm not the daughter type. You'd know about it if you had spent half of your life in a mad house, locked in a white room all day long, in a straight jacket. And your so called dad was the one to put you there, right after your powers emerged. For my own health, he said." There was a bitter tone in her voice that made Remy stay quiet for a while, thinking about her words and staring at his apple.

"I get it."

"No, you don't." The Scarlet Witch stood up and left.

Remy finished his apple in silence and decided he should hurry up if he wanted to get everything he had planned done before dinner time. He left the place without saying word to anyone and got on his bike again, this time heading to the city.

The neighborhood was poor and suspicious, and nobody noticed the man dressed in black leaning against an old brick wall. He straightened himself when he saw Remy's bike pull in and approached the street.

"I was waiting for you. Did you get what I told you?"

Remy took the files from his trench coat and gave it to him. Nathaniel Essex looked through them with a satisfied smile. Remy, on the other hand, looked serious and his eyes were narrowed in disgust.

"Very well done, LeBeau." He put the files in a suitcase and looked back at Remy, analyzing him. "I got an offer to make…"

"Non, I ain't taking no offers from y' anymore. I'll be going now. Bye." Remy snarled and left.

"You can't run away forever." Sinister whispered and disappeared in an alley's shadows.

* * *

**So I thought about making Rogue a bit distressed about Remy, but still not in the cute-loving-sexy way. She is still having a bad time about what happened with Bobby and i don't want her to just fall into Remy's arms. The Cajun will have to work out a bit haha. And also i think Remy is not a very good guy yet, tho he has a good heart, he can use his charm for his own advantage as you saw. He is not naive and he can use people when he wants to. Will that change?**

**Keep reading and reviw plz plz!**


	11. On with the flirting

**sorry guys, i took a long time to update since i broke my arm and could barely type. But now i'm free, so i finished this chap and here it is ;D**

**Hope you all enjoy and thanks so much for the reviews! you keep me going =D**

* * *

The day was a complete mess for Rogue. During all her classes she would focus all she could not to fall asleep right where she was standing. Looking at Jubilee wasn't helping either, since the girl would take a nap in almost every class. At the end of the day, she was thankful that the incident at the chemistry class was the worst thing to happen.

At dinner, she sat on the usual table with Kitty, Jubilee, Sam and Piotr.

"Piotr, where is Bobby? I haven't seen him tonight." Sam asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him either and he didn't tell me anything about going out tonight. Usually he asks me if I want to join him."

Kitty looked at Rogue for a brief second and whispered. "He kind of, like, asked if I wanted to go out with him somewhere tonight. But I said no."

Rogue kept chewing her bacon without changing her expression. Piotr looked at his own hands, suddenly deeply interested on his nails.

"He is being a jackass." Jubilee stated as if she was saying the sky was blue. "Rogue just broke up with him and now he wants to look cool by going out with another girl before she finds herself a man."

"Jubs! We didn't break up. Ah just needed a break from everything for a while."

"Like I said… broke up. If it was just a break he wouldn't be asking any other girl out. Sorry Kitty."

"It's ok." Kitty shrugged. "I didn't want to go out with him anyways. And I wouldn't do that to Rogue, even if I did want to go out with him."

"Thanks sugah."

"What I mean is… he is having this whole alpha male attitude now you two are not together anymore. To prove he is _the_ guy." Jubilee popped her gum and Sam frowned.

"C'mon Jubilee, this sounds like things animals do." He said feeling a bit insulted.

"Guys are animals Sam. Sorry to say that." She kept chewing her gum, missing the hurt look he gave her.

"Not all guys. Like, there are the nice ones." Kitty said and blushed. Rogue saw the look she exchanged with Piotr but decided it was better not to make any comment. At least not in front of Jubilee.

"Whatever. Rogue, you have to find yourself a man." She said pointing a finger at her face.

"What?" Rogue caught her fork before it fell from the table. "Did ya just hit your head somewhere, Jubs?"

"You know I always ask that to myself." Piotr chuckled. Jubilee glared at him and went on.

"This is modern times, chica. You are not supposed to sit quietly at home while he goes out with other girls. Sorry Kitty."

"It's ok."

"Jubs, Ah don't think you get mah situation here. It hasn't been even a week since we bro… took a break. You're speaking as if it has been months. Besides, it's not lahke Ah can go out to a bar and pick a guy. He wouldn't be interested to just talk to me, and ya know that. And let's say the guy is nice enough to just talk to me. What then? He would be a male friend and that's all. It's not lahke Ah can hook up with someone. Bobby was the one to put up with that entire situation."

"No one puts up with you Rogue. We actually like to be with you." Piotr put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

"Yes, thank you, but a relationship with a boyfriend without touching is… impossible, Ah guess. No one can take it for too long."

Jubilee bit her lip in thought. "You should try some flirting at least." She said after a moment of silence. "It will make you feel better and confident. We both know you need it."

"Flirting?" Rogue snorted. "You mean Ah should tease the guys, knowing Ah'll never be able to give them what they want? That's a bit mean, don'tcha think?"

"That's the point." Jubilee gave her a wicked smile. "Just for fun."

"Girls." Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head.

* * *

The following morning the school was bustling with the news that there would be a Halloween party. Kitty, Tabitha and Jubilee were talking nonstop about what costumes to wear on the 31st.

"C'mon Rogueeee! You need to come shopping with us! There is only two weeks left and like, so many things to do."

"Kitty, it's just a silly costume party. It's not like you'll be shopping for a wedding. Ah'll just get a white long gown for my ghost costume."

"No way you're dressing like a ghost." Tabitha crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose.

"But it's Halloween!"

"So, we are supposed to get decent costumes. Who the hell is going to look at you if you are all covered up with a freaking white gown?"

"Oh so the point is to dress up in a way that boys will look? And Ah thought it was about the party." She said sarcastically.

"Any ways, we have to find ourselves nice costumes before they are all gone and we have to dress up as clowns. And no white gowns, please."

"Mebbe a red babydoll will do, eh?" Rogue felt her stomach curl as Remy's hot breath caressed her ear and his hand crawled around her waist.

"Not even on your dreams, swamp rat." She snapped at him, and stepped back. Remy gave her an irresistible pout, winked at the girls and turned to leave.

"Actually, in my dreams dere is no babydoll at all cherie." He said over his shoulder and disappeared through the Rec room door. Rogue's face turned bright red of embarrassment and anger.

"Disgusting perv." She looked at the three girls looking for approval but Tabitha was still drooling over Remy, Jubilee had an annoying smirk on her face and Kitty couldn't stop giggling.

"Rogue…" Jubilee's smirk grew on her face and Rogue felt a tingle of fear.

"Yeah?" she asked uncertainly.

"Remember what I said about the flirting?"

"What about…" she stopped for a second, scared of her next conclusion. "Oh, no! No way in hell! Ah ain't flirting with that crazy Cajun."

"Why not? It's perfect. He flirts with you, you flirt back. Bobby will snap."

"First of all: flirting with Remy is already bad enough. Second of all: flirting with him to piss Bobby off is even more ridiculous. Ah'm not 8yrs old anymore."

"But… ok, don't do it for Bobby. Just for the fun, chica. I bet Remy will be so surprised by it he will soon stop chasing after you, since he clearly only does this to piss you off. Isn't that what you want?"

Rogue thought about it for a minute. Once in her life, Jubilee made sense. Remy would get bored if he couldn't piss her off anymore, and would leave her alone. And all she had to do was flirt, something that she considered herself good at.

"Ok, you got me. I'll try."

Kitty smiled and Jubilee did a victory dance. Tabitha was still drooling.

"Now, now. If you want to do it properly, we have to find you a nice costume for the party." Kitty said and Rogue nearly regretted her decision.

'What did Ah get myself into?'

* * *

After a few minutes of begging, Warren finally agreed to drive them to the mall and pick them up when they were done.

"Just make sure you finish today, alright?" he said to Tabitha while they got out of the car. She glared at him in return and closed the door.

"So girls, let's get started!" she said and ran into the mall, followed by Kitty and Jubilee, and a reluctant Rogue.

After searching in three stores, they finally found nice costumes with an accessible price. Rogue sat on a couch, waiting for Jubilee and Tabitha, delaying her torture moment. Kitty was sitting by her side since she had already picked up her costume.

"You know it's a miracle Jubilee didn't notice yet, don'tcha?" Rogue whispered. Kitty's head snapped up to look at her.

"What are you talking about?" she did her best to look innocent but her scared eyes were giving her away.

"You, Pete… do Ah really have to go on? It's like ya can't keep your eyes away from each other."

"Oh god, is it that clear?" Kitty asked, forgetting all her precaution. "I thought I was being discreet. And does he really keep looking at me? I mean, like, I thought it was just coincidence that he was looking when I was looking too."

"So you're not going out yet?" Rogue exclaimed.

"You thought we were?" Kitty's face brightened.

"Yeah. It's clear he likes you, and it's been ages. I'm surprised you still have doubts about it."

"I know… but when the Professor died… I couldn't really focus on such things. But lately… oh, Rogue, he is so sweet and handsome."

"So go out with him."

"I can't!" she said a bit desperately.

"Why? Aren't ya girls the independent women?" Rogue teased.

"I'm shy. And so is he. What can I do?"

"You could try…" Rogue started but at that moment Jubilee showed up with a bunch of leather clothes in her hands and waved it before Rogue's face.

"Try this on! Now!" she demanded, sounding a bit scary in Rogue's opinion.

"Jubs…"

"Now! It's perfect for you and it's your size. Do it!"

"Alright, alright. Just watch for your heart. You might end up in hospital one of these days." She stood up, took the leather clothes with an uncertain look and moved to the dresser cabin.

"What is it that you picked?" Kitty asked raising an eyebrow and Jubilee rubbed her hands.

"You'll see." And her smile grew when she heard Rogue groaning inside the cabin.

* * *

When they got back to the mansion, she could hardly walk. Her feet were screaming for mercy and her head was pumping, and all she needed to do was lay down. But as soon as she set her foot on the stairs bottom, Ororo walked in their direction.

"Jubilee, Rogue, Kitty! The Professor is waiting for the X-Men in the conference room in 5 minutes."

Tabitha looked at the pitifully and waved goodbye, while going upstairs. The other girls just moaned and turned around to meet the others. When Rogue got in the room, Bobby was sitting there, but when his eyes met hers, he lowered his head, staring at the table. She ignored that and sat down with Jubilee by her side. Kitty went to sit by Piotr's side and both of them blushed.

* * *

Remy blinked a couples times, surprised that Scott had come to his room and asked him to join the X-Men in the Conference room. Maybe Xavier was willing to trust him after all, even if he was new at that place.

'Dis man puts too much faith in people. Good f'r me.' He thought while putting a shirt on and going downstairs. All the X-Men were sitting at a round metal table already, and the only place left was at Rogue's side.

'Y' lucky bastard.' He grinned down at her, who just turned her attention to something else, and sat down.

At that very moment, Xavier started to speak but his attention was on her V-cut shirt. She stretched a little, trying to get rid of the tension on her back, and that only contributed to divert his attention even more from the Professor's words. All he could catch were isolated phrases like "… _this power is hard to control_…" and "… _once it gets started, the only way to stop is overloading it_…" but it didn't make sense at all. Bobby coughed a couple times, probably trying to get his attention. It was only when Logan kicked his shin and growled that he paid attention to what was being said. Mostly it was about the diamond and he realized it hadn't been that bad he only paid attention at that moment, since Magneto had already lectured him about that matter, so he had to face 40 minutes of boring details.

Rogue seemed to be bored as well, and her eyes were closing slowly, but Xavier didn't notice since he was looking at Scott or Hank most of the times, and Logan clearly pretended that he wasn't seeing. Remy couldn't help but hold back a chuckle while looking at her face. It seemed she was putting all her strength in staying awake and she would constantly snap her eyes open all of a sudden.

He took a card and a pen out of his pocket, wrote something and gave her the card. He gave her a lopsided grin when she gave him a death glare and shove the card in his hands.

Well, it seemed she didn't accept his invitation to go to his room later so he could keep her awake.

He wrote '_too bad_' on the back of the card and handled it to her again. This time it took a lil longer for the card to come back, and he saw there was something new written in it: cut it, swamp rat.

And again he wrote: was just being nice to you, petite. And the answer: yeah, sure.

Remy: so which costume did you get?

Rogue: you'll see at the party. It sux.

Remy quirked his eyebrows and she just shrugged, trying to look focused on what the Professor was saying.

Remy: what's the color of it? red would be nice.

Rogue: it's black! Pervert.

Remy: you hurt me feelings cherie :(

She glared at him again but chuckled when she saw he was pouting, looking at her from behind his hair locks.

"Ok, so this is all I had to say. Hank and I will keep running tests on this gem, since it's crucial we know what Magneto is up to. Also, I'll try to track him down, so we can stop him before something bad happens. So, if you have no more questions, you're all dismissed."

Remy followed Rogue out of the door and when they got to the corridor he rushed to her side.

"Y' should apologize for breaking my heart, cherie."

She rolled her eyes but a smile was still finding its way through her lips.

"Ah didn't know ya had a heart, Remy. It's kinda shocking."

"Touché. But I'll accept y'r apologies if y' sleep by my side tonight."

And then she did something he really didn't expect. She approached him and ran a finger over his chest. He froze and kept his gaze locked on her.

"Ya really would like that, wouldn't ya Cajun?" she purred and he swallowed hard, nodding and thanking God his pants were loose enough. She moved closer, but still keeping a safe distance from his face and whispered. "Too bad for ya then. See ya, swamp rat." And, flashing him one last smile, she turned around and left, leaving an astounded Remy behind her.

'Where did this come from?' he thought, still in shock.

* * *

"Chicaaaaaa, I saw that! I can't believe what you just did!" Jubilee was jumping around the room and Rogue blushed from her place on the bed.

"Ah just thought it was a good moment to take yer advices. And the amazing part is that it worked. You should've seen his face. It's like he suddenly realized Ah have two heads."

Both started to laugh and Jubilee sat on her own bed.

"How did it feel?"

"Hmm… Ah felt in control. It feels nice."

"Of course it does! I bet he didn't know what just hit him. I told you it would work."

"Yeah, if it had been any other person, Ah'd feel bad about it. But this guy really deserved it. Ah have to admit Ah never thought any of yer crazy plans would work, Jubs."

"Hey, they're not crazy. They are just special."

They spent an hour just laughing at the whole situation, until Rogue finally fell asleep and left Jubilee talking to herself.

* * *

**haha girl power! plz let me know if you like it the way it's going, ok? Sometimes i am a bit uncertain if i'm going too fast or too slow, so let me know**

**reviews plzzzzz **


	12. Fair play

_I do not own the X-Men (too bad for me)._

**so i took so long to update but now i'm finally free from university, until next year. I've enjoyed writting this chap and hope you enjoy reading it! Thanks so much for the reviews ;D Love you readers!**

**Keep the reviews comin o/**

* * *

The next morning went just as usual, with boring classes, surprise tests and noisy teenagers. Most of them were talking about the party and about who to invite as a date, and for some reason, many girls were talking about Remy as well. It seemed he was famous at the mansion already, and Rogue thought it wouldn't take long for the girls to fight over him, powers included. Personally, she wasn't paying much attention to it since she didn't feel like going to that party in the first place. She knew Bobby would be there and staying in the same place as he would be distressing. And probably he would have a date by then. She frowned whenever she thought about it. There was just one thing she was looking forward to seeing: Logan's costume. Ororo had given him an ultimatum to get a nice costume, or she would electrocute him. That wasn't a big deal for the Wolverine but he didn't like to say no to the weather goddess, so he decided to wear a discreet costume, but a costume nonetheless. There were bets running all over the Institute, and the most popular one was a werewolf costume. Of course Rogue knew that not even Ororo could get him to wear that.

At lunch time, since Jubilee was running around the mansion looking for a date, Kitty sat by her side asking for suggestions about how to ask Piotr to be her date at the party.

"Kitty, just go on and ask him." She said for the 4th time, looking exasperated.

"I know, but what if he says no? What if he's got a date already?"

"Sugah, does he really look like he is going to say no to ya? I bet he wants it too, but you know how he is."

"Yes but like, I'm still scared he's got someone to go with him already."

"If you wait longer, then it's possible he will get someone."

Kitty stared at her plate for a while in deep thought. After ten minutes, Piotr got in the kitchen and walked straight in their direction.

"Good afternoon girls. Kitty, may I talk to you?"

Rogue raised her eyebrows to the girl and Kitty's color seemed to vanish from her face.

"Ye-yes. Sure. See you later Rogue." She stood up and left with an anxious look on her face. Rogue started poking her food with the fork when Betsy came and sat by her side.

"Hey luv."

"Hi Betsy. What's up?"

"Nothing really, but Logan asked me to remind you of your training session in 5 minutes."

"Oh Gawd, Ah forgot completely about it! Thanks Betsy!" she stood and ran to the Danger Room, knowing Logan would make her work twice as hard if she got late.

She put on her uniform in a matter of seconds and entered the Danger room breathing fast and with a messy hair. Thankfully, Logan hadn't arrived yet but Lorna, Sam, Bobby and Remy were standing there already.

Bobby was chatting cheerfully with Lorna, and she was giggling and constantly running her hand through her hair. Rogue felt a sting of jealousy but turned her eyes away. Sam waved at her from the place he was standing all by himself and she went to stand by his side. While she walked, she could feel Remy's eyes checking her out, and suddenly she felt the uniform was showing more than she would like him to see. He smirked at her and licked his lips slowly, clearly trying to piss her off. Right in that moment, Logan came into the Danger room and growled at Remy, who just smiled innocently in return.

"Ok, so today I have to deal with you five. I will ask you to do something simple but still difficult. Act as a team, with one goal in common: take the Cajun down."

Everyone's eyebrows raised and Bobby seemed to be looking forward to start. Rogue changed a glance with Sam and she could tell he didn't feel comfortable with four people attacking one. She looked back at Remy and his smile was even larger, and his hands were shuffling a deck of cards that appeared out of nowhere. She didn't really mind beating that smile off his face.

"Are you sure this will be fair?" Lorna asked.

"Unfortunately it is. Are you ready?" Logan looked at each of them enthusiastically.

"Wait. What is this guy's power anyways?" Bobby asked, not even bothering to look at Remy.

"You'll soon find out, kid. Get ready!"

All of them formed a circle around Remy, who just kept standing coolly shuffling his deck and smirking. Rogue's adrenaline started to rush through her. She just wanted to get rid of that damn smirk.

"Fight!"

Bobby was the first one to run into Remy's direction and moved to punch him while freezing his own fist. Before he could get much closer though Remy turned and gave him a side kick on the chest, and then dodged out of Sam's way, who came flying like a missile in his direction.

Rogue snapped her mouth shut, realizing she had been standing there watching Remy fight Sam and Bobby without much effort. She was about to kick him on the kidneys when he swept her off her feet and then landed on top of her. Right in that second, Sam passed over their heads and hit Bobby straight in the chest.

"What…?" she didn't have time to finish the sentence since Lorna sent a few metal training equipment flying in Remy's direction. He dodged most of them but a heavy metal bar hit him hard and he fell back. Lorna smiled and two metal boxes came in his direction again. He stood up and charged a handful of cards that exploded when they hit the boxes. The explosion sent Lorna flying onto the wall and she lost consciousness. Rogue took advantage of the dust and crawled until she was close enough to Remy's leg, diving and grabbing his legs. He stumbled and fell with a surprised look on his face. Rogue tried to use some basic judo moves to immobilize him but Remy extended his bo staff and grinned at her.

"Sorry cherie, but it's not y'r turn yet." With those words, he charged the staff just enough to cause an impact and get her off him. He stood and pulled her to him.

"I like de uniform. By the way, don't get mad at me, ok?" he whispered and got a confused look from her. She finally got what he meant when he immobilized her, turning her back to him and holding her arm. She was about to back kick him when he took off her glove and she froze.

"Remy?" she sounded a bit hysterical and he nearly gave up on his plan but Sam was already flying in his direction again. Too late to turn back.

When Sam was only a few seconds away, he stepped to the side taking Rogue with him, but raised her hand high enough so it brushed against Sam's bare cheek. It wasn't enough to knock him out but he lost his focus for a second and ended up hitting the metal wall, crumbling to the ground.

Rogue stood there trying to get what had just happened.

"Ya didn't just do this! This wasn't fair!"

"Actually it was, Rogue. He used your powers against each other. That is fair in a fight." Logan stated.

She glared at him and then turned to glare at Remy, who looked as if nothing had happened.

"You're going to pay fer that, swamp rat." She growled and took a jab at his chin. He barely had time to dodge and she double kicked him. Her furious attacks caught him off guard since he didn't expect such a reaction from a girl who looked so soft and delicate.

But Remy wasn't one to accept being hit. He grabbed his bo staff again and used it to block her moves.

"Y' know cherie, I was looking forward to have this private session with you."

"I'm-not-your-cherie!" she managed to punch him twice when he finally grabbed her fist.

"Now y' should calm down cherie. It wasn't dat bad. In fights sometimes we need to make dirty moves."

"Oh yeah?" she grabbed his coat and raised her knee to meet his groin. He fell to his knees without breath. "Thanks for the advice swamp rat."

Logan smiled proudly at her.

"Good work Rogue. You're free from tomorrow's training."

She gave him a wink, took her glove from the floor and went to the changing rooms. She was in the middle of her shower when Lorna came in.

"Is your head ok?" Rogue asked.

"Yes, I think I just need to put some ice. But Logan insisted I went to see Mr. McCoy just to make sure. By the way, he mentioned something about you beating Remy at his own game. How was that?"

"Oh." She chuckled. "Let's say won't be able to walk properly for a while."

Lorna's mouth dropped and she started laughing. "You didn't just do that."

"Yep, Ah did. Put that arrogant Cajun in his proper place." Rogue said while drying herself and putting her normal clothes on. "Ah'll catch up with ya later."

"Ok. The boys planned some basketball later, after lunch. It would be nice if you wanted to join us."

"Ah will."

Rogue stood in front of the elevator when she heard uncertain footsteps behind her. She snorted when she turned to find Remy coming in her direction, walking in an awkward way.

"Feeling better?" she asked with a wicked smile on her face.

"Cherie, dat was a very dirty move, y' know? But don't worry; there won't be any permanent damage to the fun park."

Rogue rolled her eyes and he grinned.

"Perhaps if y' kiss it better I'll forgive y'. What y' say?".

"You're always this dirty minded?" Rogue asked while getting in the elevator.

"Only when I breath." He winked at her and she couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Or y' could have lunch wit' me and I'll forgive y' just the same."

"It's not happening swamp rat." She smiled and got out of the elevator, heading to the stairs. "Next time you just think twice before playing dirty with me."

"I'd love to play dirty wit' y' anytime cherie. Y' know where my room is, don't y'?"

She turned and glared at him. "Mind to tell me where it is?"

"Will y' show up?"

"No, Ah'll just avoid getting near it as much as possible." They got to the top of the stairs and Remy bowed to her.

"I'm sure you'll change y'r mind, cherie. Tell me when dat happens." He grinned and left. Rogue just sighed at that and went to her room to finish homework.

* * *

Remy locked the door of his room and leaned back on it. He still wasn't in conditions of sitting down. 'Dat fille surely has got some fire.' He got into his bathroom and dialed a number on his mobile. It rang a couple times before a cold voice answered.

"Sinister. Were the files useful? Bon. I got more information. I saw the diamond an' Xavier has been analyzing it. Non, he suspects Magneto only and t'inks the diamond is only a form of expanding some kind o' power. So when can I get it?" he nodded. "Isn't dat waiting too long?" he gave a heavy sigh. "Ok, ok, I was just askin'. I'll stay in contact wit' Magneto." He hung up and lit a cigarette. For a moment, he thought about taking a nap and doing nothing for the rest of the day, but the sky was bright and blue outside. Maybe doing nothing in the swimming pool would be better than staying in his room.

When Remy finally got to the swimming pool, most of the girls in the mansion were nearly hanging on the windows and drooling. He would often look up and wink at some of them, and it only took a while for the swimming pool to be filled with giggling girls. He was talking to a thin blonde when he saw Lorna head to the woods in a fast pace. It didn't seem like anything interesting until he saw Bobby leaving the mansion 10 minutes after her and heading in the same direction.

For some reason, he felt his heart pump on his chest and his eyes flashed for a second. 'So much for the jealousy…' he thought and remembered Rogue's teary eyes after her date with Bobby.

"Remy, are you listening?" the blonde called him.

"Oui?"

"I just asked if you could put some sunscreen lotion on my back." She purred and turned her back to him.

"Mebbe later petite." He took his towel and walked back to the mansion, leaving a startled blonde and disappointed girls behind him. He was wondering if he should tell Rogue about what he had just seen when he heard her voice coming from the kitchen. Jubilee, Kitty and Piotr were having lunch with her, and she looked happy. Remy stood on the door, thinking if he should mention anything but changed his mind when he heard her laughing. It wasn't hard to imagine how she would react to what he had to say, and he didn't want to mess the way she was looking right now. This was none of his business anyways.

Piotr saw him and waved for him to join them.

"Hey, Remy. Don't you want to have lunch with us? We bought some pizza."

"Sure thing. Mind if I sit by y'r side, cherie?" he asked Rogue and she hesitated. Jubilee stepped on her foot under the table and she winced.

"It's ok, swa… Remy." Rogue indifferently, or in a way she thought it was indifferent, since her voice was a bit higher than usual, after seeing him only wearing his swimming shorts. It was a delightful vision of heaven, or perhaps hell, since no angel would be this tempting and devilishly sexy. He stretched on purpose and she nearly chocked on her coke. The heat was getting unbearable.

"So Remy, we are going to like, play basketball in half an hour. There is just one person missing, since Tabby is not going to play. Do you want to join?" Kitty asked cheerfully.

"It's been a while I don' play basketball but it sounds fun. Hopefully I'm not rusty. Who's playin'?" Remy asked while grabbing his second slice of pizza.

"I, Pete, Jubilee, Rogue, Lorna, Sam and Bobby."

"Did I just hear my name?" came a voice from the door and Remy's smile faded from his face when he saw Bobby standing there. He held back the anger which was starting to boil inside him and concentrated on his food. Rogue otherwise didn't even seem to notice anyone had talked at all, even though her eyes had gotten suddenly cold.

"Yes, we were talking about the basketball match with Remy. He is joining us." Kitty patted Remy on the back as if he was a NBA champion. Bobby's eyes narrowed for a second and he crossed his arms.

"So, can you play basketball Gambit?"

"Kind of."

"I hope you are. I, Lorna, Pete and Sam are the best team around here."

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Will you do that speech every time we friggin' play? I don't think you are the best, so what?"

"So that we are the best, Jubs. It's a fact." Bobby stated.

"Wanna bet on that?" she challenged him.

Pete and Kitty looked at each other with a scared look on their faces, but still Rogue didn't move.

"Petite, it's not very nice of a girl t' make bets." Remy raised his eyebrow at Jubilee and smirked. "Perhaps Iceboy wants t' bet with moi."

Bobby hesitated for a second but nodded. "What do I get if I win?"

"Y'r choice."

"Good. Your whole team will have to state I beat you in the match, and you will be wearing Jubilee's yellow dress… in front of the whole mansion. What do you say?"

Remy chuckled and raised his hand. "I promise. But if I win, I'll take Rogue t' the Halloween Ball. Deal?"

Everyone's head turned to Rogue, who turned her head to Remy, nearly snapping her own neck.

"What?" Bobby and Rogue said in unison.

"Are y' scared of losing?" Remy teased.

"No way! It's a deal." And they shook each other's hand. Bobby turned and left for the basketball court.

"Are ya crazy? How dare ya betting me?" Rogue flared at Remy.

"Cherie, it's not that bad. Or at least it's better than if he wins."

"Ah got serious doubts." She whispered.

"Y' will not let him win. I feel it." Remy grinned and stood. "So team, let's do dis?"

Jubilee and Kitty stood cheerfully and Rogue went after them still fuming, with Piotr looking uncertain by her side.

Lorna and Sam were talking to Bobby, and Piotr went to join them. Remy just said a few words to the girls to motivate them and they went to the middle of the court. Bobby's team got to start with the ball but Remy's team was the first on to score. Jubilee and Remy were really fast players, but it wasn't very easy to get through Bobby and Lorna. Rogue was the best one to dribble so far, although Sam often made things harder for her, and she avoided getting too physical. Kitty wasn't much of a player and seemed to be a bit scared of the ball, but Piotr played decently, blocking and scoring easily. The match was even until the last minute, when Jubilee passed the ball to Rogue, who was free in the middle of the court. She took the ball and froze. There were only a few seconds left and she gave a quick glance to Remy and Bobby. Both of them seemed to be paralyzed. She took a deep breath at the same time Remy held his. She threw the ball and it went straight through the hoop. Jubilee ran to her and jumped on her arms screaming. Kitty slapped Remy's hand and he walked to Bobby, who just stared at Rogue in disbelief.

"So we won mon ami. See y' at the ball." He smirked and waved at him, then went to Rogue's side. "Nice game cherie."

"You better not make me regret this, swamp rat, or Ah'll gut ya." She said that but a smile played on her lips when she saw Bobby's face.

* * *

**So this is it for now but half of next chap is done already... party will be in chap 14! wooo hooooooo i can't wait to write it xD**

**Review!**


	13. Not alone

_I do not own any character!_

**_This chap was a nice one to write, tho i still feel i want to add more things to it... maybe i will do that soon or later, but i'm out of good ideas for now. All of them just seem plain stupid._**

**_Any suggestions are welcome! And reviews too plz! =D thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, it makes my day_**

* * *

At night, Rogue was sitting alone in her room since Jubilee went to the movies with Sam. A loud knock on her door broke her attention from the book she was reading. She was about to get up to open the door, when Bobby came inside without waiting for a response.

"What was that?" he closed the door and crossed his arms.

"Couldn't ya wait for meh to open the door? And what are you talking about?" Rogue asked and stood up.

"On the basketball game. Why did you accept going to the party with that Gambit guy?" his voice seemed to be holding back a lot of anger.

"Bobby, as far as Ah'm concerned, Ah didn't accept going to the ball with him. You lost your bet, and this was his prize, according to yerself. You had it coming." she shrugged.

"You could have lost that ball and let us win then."

"So we would have to humiliate ourselves in front of all the people in the mansion. Ah don't think so sugah. And Ah'm loyal to my team, and friends." She narrowed her eyes and sat down again, focusing on her book. "If that's all you…"

"No, it's not. What's going on between you and him?" Bobby decided to go straight to the point. Rogue's jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide.

"What?"

"Since this guy got here, he talks to you like you knew each other from before, and he is around you all the time. How do you expect me to believe there's nothing?"

"What are ya insinuating Bobby? There is nothing between us! Ah told you we bumped once at the mall, and that's all that happened. Remy does this to piss me off, and you should know it already. Is this how you trust me?"

"You want me to trust you? We barely took a break and you're going on a date with him."

"It's not a date! Anyways, how long did it take for you to ask Kitty out after our break? Please, tell me Bobby!" Rogue was getting mad at this ridiculous speech he was doing, and how hypocrite he sounded.

"C'mon, Kitty is just a friend." He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"So is Remy." She stated.

"Yeah, we both know he wants much more than this. And you are giving it to him!" Bobby said exasperated.

"Don't be ridiculous. Ah'm not giving anything to him. You always did everything as you felt like, and Ah never complied about it, even if it hurt me. So who do you think you are to say how Ah'm supposed to live? " she stood and put her hands on her hips, eyeing him dangerously.

"I'm you boyfr…"

"No ya're not! You are not mah boyfriend anymore, remember? So leave me alone and get outta mah room. NOW!" she walked past him and opened the door rudely. He looked at her as if it was the first time he actually saw her, feeling startled. "Ah'm not saying it again Bobby. If ya don't leave, Ah will."

"Rogue, don't you dare leaving this room before we finish this talk."

"Yeah? Watch me!" she closed the door with all her strength behind her and went to the garden. She expected Bobby to come after her but he didn't. 'Typical of him.' She thought, while sitting under the old oak she liked so much.

She stayed there for about five minutes before she heard the leaves moving, but there was no wind at all. Rogue looked up and saw a lean pair of legs right above her head, and red eyes staring.

"Remy, what are you doing there?"

"I was havin' a smoke and watchin' the moon, ma belle. But y' are so much more beautiful than it, dat I couldn't resist and started t' watch y'." he said from where he was sitting, and she could distinguish a thin curl of smoke coming from his lips, which held the usual cocky smirk.

"Ah'm not in the mood now, Remy. Please let's pretend you're not here, ok?"

"Bien. Since I'm not here, y' could take off y'r shirt t' feel more comfortable." He joked but saw she had no reaction to that. It felt weird teasing her and not getting a response, not even an angry glare. Something was clearly bothering the Southern Belle and he felt curious. Maybe that was the right word. Maybe not. Anyways, he gave a try. "Or, if it makes y' more comfortable, why don't y' talk t' dis ol' oak about what happened? Perhaps it will answer y'".

Rogue chuckled for a second at his brief attempt of talking serious to her and looked up again. His face had a concerned expression, even in the dark. So she did something maybe she wouldn't do if she wasn't feeling like talking to someone, even if it was someone as annoying as Remy. Rogue stood and climbed the tree where an old branch was near the soil, sitting next to Remy. She gave him a slight smile and looked at her feet.

"Hey ol' oak. Are ya in the mood for a chat?" she whispered and raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response.

"Of course, cher… I mean, Rogue." Remy said, and his smirk wasn't cocky anymore. It looked soft on his amused face. "What is botherin' y'?"

Rogue swung her legs, still staring at them. "Ah'm just feeling so confused. You know when you're with someone for a few years and then all of a sudden it all comes crashing down? Maybe Ah should feel bad about it, or depressed for us not being together anymore. However, Ah feel… relieved. The way it had been going lately, it was like he was doing a favor being with me. Ah liked Bobby but it doesn't feel bad that we broke up. Ah'm upset because Ah wish it didn't happen like this, but still… Gawd, it's so hard to explain. Ah guess ya never went through this since, you know, you don't seem the kind of person to have problems in your relationships. And maybe you never had a really serious one."

"Lemme see if I get it, Rogue. Y' were happy wit' him, but somehow it didn't feel completely right. Dere was somet'ing out o' place, and in some moments y' even thought it was y'r fault. Dat person changed, and y' changed as well. Everything starts fallin' apart because o' dat, and y' still feel it's y'r fault. And finally y' break up but y' don't feel bad about it. Instead, freedom is the only thing y' can really feel. Simply because deep inside, cherie, y' know dat wasn't the right person fo' y'. Y' know that somewhere dere is somet'ing bigger. Something y' won't need to force so it happens. It just does."

Rogue raised her eyes to him surprised, and realized he seemed to be lost in thought. The smirk was long gone, and his face seemed to be different. Tired.

"You nailed it, Remy. How do you know?" she asked.

"We are more alike than it seems. It happens dat I had a serious relationship once, cherie. Y' can't imagine how serious it was meant t' be. But it all ended abruptly. For many years, I thought it was my fault it happened. She meant a lot t' me, Rogue. Still, it wasn't enough." For a moment, it seemed he was talking more to himself than to her. A light breeze caressed his hair and he turned to look at her.

"Ya know?" Rogue moved closer to him without breaking the eye contact.

"Oui?"

"You are less annoying than Ah thought, swamp rat." She punched him lightly on the arm and they chuckled.

"Y' are more interestin' than I thought, river rat." Remy teased.

"Hey!" Rogue punched him again, harder this time. "Ah take back what Ah said. And… Ah'm proud of being a river rat." she whispered. "This oak reminds me of a tree Ah used to sit under when Ah was a kid in Mississippi. Ah could spend the whole afternoon just sitting there, looking at the clouds and listening to the birds. Mah only concern back then was waking up in time for school, and getting good grades. Ah miss those days."

"Y'r childhood seemed quite peaceful." His lips curled up in a smile.

"It was." Rogue's voice was thoughtful and Remy could tell by her face many memories were going through her mind. For a moment he wondered if he should go and leave her alone, but she turned to him again.

"What about you Remy? Tell me something about your childhood."

"Oh, there are many things t' be told ma belle. Even though I was an innocent lil' boy, trouble seemed to come after me."

"Innocent, you? Don't make me laugh. Ah wonder if you were ever innocent in yer life."

Remy gave her a puppy look and blinked twice.

"But I was! Very innocent. Or at least, I tried t' look innocent after messing things up." He chuckled and coughed. "I remember my père always bought it. All I needed to do was smile and point at my older brother, Henry. The only person who seemed t' read my thoughts was my Tante Mattie, and den she'd beat me wit' the wooden spoon." He flinched and rubbed his butt distractedly. "Dat used t' make Henry's day."

The wind started to blow harder and he looked up. "Seems it's goin' t' rain, cherie. We better get inside." The words barely came out of his mouth and small rain drops started to fall. With a gracious movement, he jumped to the ground and helped Rogue down by taking her hand. When she stood in front of him, his hands automatically moved to her waist. Rogue blushed slightly and looked into his red on black eyes, waiting for his hands to move away but they didn't.

"Remy." She said, feeling awkward.

"Oui?" he whispered back. Her face was pale, even though her cheeks were turning red, and small rain drops were shining on her face and hair. 'Vous êtes très belle, cherie.'

"You can let go now." She tried again but still he didn't move. She could swear his hands were growing warmer and his red eyes were deeper. It was a mesmerizing situation, and her heart was surely pumping, but this wasn't a right thing. 'Right?' she thought, trying to convince herself to pull away.

A lightning turned the night sky clear for a brief second, followed by the thunder, breaking the trance. Remy blinked twice and let go of her waist.

"We… we better get inside." He repeated and gave her his coat so she wouldn't get too wet. They ran to the mansion as the rain grew thicker and heavier.

"Wow, Ah hope Ah don't catch a cold after that." Rogue looked out of the window; the rain kept on growing stronger. "You know, this rain doesn't seem normal."

"Y' think it has somethin' t' do with Stormy?" Remy sounded worried.

"Ah don't know. Let's check it." she climbed up the stairs in the direction of Ororo's room and met Logan in front of it, ready to open the door.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Rogue?" he asked in a husky voice and his eyes burned when he saw Remy with her.

"Ah came to check on Ororo. Is she ok?"

"Charles just woke me up, asking me to come here. She is having nightmares, really bad ones." He said and opened the door slightly. " 'Ro? Can I come in?" he called but there was no answer. They went inside and saw she was curled up on her sheets, sweating and moaning.

"Jean… No, Jean…" she whispered and tears strolled down her cheeks. Rogue and Logan looked at each other and lowered their eyes. It was clear she was still suffering from the lost of her friend. Logan sat by her side, stroking her white hair gently.

"Ororo, wake up. It's only a nightmare." He whispered and she opened her eyes abruptly.

"Logan!" Ororo blinked a few times trying to focus on his face.

"I'm here. It's ok 'Ro."

"I saw Jean in my dreams Logan. It felt so real." The tears kept coming and she didn't seem to realize Remy and Rogue were standing there. Logan nodded to them, meaning he could handle the situation and they could go. They gave one last look to Ororo and left, giving them privacy. They looked out of the window and the rain had stopped, as if nothing had happened.

"She still didn't get over her friend's death, isn't it?" Remy asked Rogue, while walking her to her room.

"Nope. No one here did, actually. Jean was an amazing person and we lost her twice. It's an awful feeling. Ah'm glad she and Logan are getting over it together. People heal faster when they are not alone."

"It's true." Remy whispered and kissed the back of her hand when they got in front of her room. "Remember y' are not alone either, cherie." He looked into her eyes when he said this. Rogue blushed again and opened the door.

"Thanks Remy. Good night."

"Bonne nuit, Rogue."

* * *

It was the day before the party at last, after 10 days of pure agony, and everyone seemed to be about to explode from anxiety, including Rogue, but not for the same reasons. Her costume was just… argh. She couldn't get herself to think about it anymore without blushing and wanting to run away.

The Professor had to travel to Canada that night for a conference and Scott would go with him. So that left Ororo and Logan to take care of the kids. The African goddess was fine with it as always, and helping to prepare the stuff for the party, which would take place in the Danger room since it would be safer. Logan otherwise was about to go crazy and looked like he was about to gut the next person that asked which costume he would wear.

In Rogue's opinion, it seemed like everyone had a terrible sugar rush. Some people decided to buy their costumes at the last minute, and others were running around decorating the whole mansion. The cake was being prepared by Ororo and Remy, and all the others were preparing candies and biscuits. It smelled good for sure, but all those people running and screaming and talking at the same time was driving her nuts.

"Why do they need to prepare the food now anyways?" she asked herself while sitting at the Rec room.

"Just t' make sure tomorrow we'll have plenty o' time t' get ready." Remy jumped over the couch and landed sitting by her side.

"Hey swamp rat. Thought ya were baking a cake?" she said over her book.

"It's nearly done but Stormy gave me a break."

Rogue chuckled at the nickname.

"Seemed she wanted to get rid o' me actually."

"And Ah wonder why is that." Rogue finally raised her eyes and was met with his bright red ones.

"Me too, cherie. Me too." He said, giving her an innocent look that didn't work at all, making her laugh.

This last week they had been finally getting along (most of the time) after she decided to ignore his flirting, and at times flirt back. Rogue found out that, unlike she thought previously, Remy was really easy to talk to. They sat in the kitchen four days in a row at 5am, talking about their lives back in the South. Remy was a good listener, even though some dirty jokes would come out of his lips once in a while. Mostly she would do all the talk, getting lost in her own childhood memories, which always came to her mind after eating his southern breakfast. It was like a truth serum to her, and she liked the way things came out so easily. A couple times he would interrupt her to add his own memories in the conversation and they were quite funny, bringing crazy cute images in her head. Like when he said he once broke his dad's new TV and blamed it on his brother, who had been out all day. And his dad bought it! However she would still blush and yell at him when his jokes were beyond her limits and he seemed to think that was amusing, since his smirk grew wider as her face grew hotter. That definitely made her explode and storm out of wherever they were. Bobby didn't seem to like this at all, and he would avoid being in the same room as Remy whenever he could, even though he had to deal with him in the Danger Room sessions. Anyways, Remy was getting along with everyone else in the Institute, including the younger kids, who he had to teach some fighting when Logan was out.

"So petite, what you're doin' here all alone?"

"What it seems?" she pointed at her book.

"Hmmm, reading adult literature?" he gave her a puppy look, but his grin was mischievous.

"Remy! This is a poems book."

"Adult poetry?"

"No!" her voice grew higher as other people got in the room and looked at her book.

Remy saw her concern and took the book from her hands in a fluid and quick motion.

"Hey! Give it back now." She stood but he jumped over the couch again, out of her reach.

"So why does it say _Roses are red, grass is green, open your le…_"

"Remy, stop!" she jumped over the couch too and nearly landed on top of him, taking the book from his hands. Everyone around chuckled and gave interested looks to her book.

"This is William Blake! Not some perverted poetry." She turned around and showed the book to everyone. After glaring at Remy, she sat down again, a small pout playing on her lips.

"So what are y' up to later?" Remy asked like nothing had happened.

"Ah'm not in the mood for anything to be honest. This party is getting on mah nerves." She sounded too serious so Remy didn't make any comment on that. He could see a frown start to form on her delicate features and a strange feeling took over him.

"Tonight there's going t' be some horror movies goin' on TV. What y' say about watching it wit' me? I don't like to watch this kind o' movies by myself." He joked and the frown left her face.

"It sounds nice. The movies are the only good thing about Halloween." She smiled softly.

"Don't forget the candies." He smiled at her as well.

"Yeah, the candies too."

"Anybody mentioned horror movies?" Jubilee's voice came from behind the couch and her head popped between them.

"We are going to watch it later. Wanna watch it with us Jubs?" Rogue asked, not noticing Remy's sigh.

"Yes, of course. I'm so addicted to horror movies. Kitty will have to watch it with us too 'cause we made a bet and she lost. I can't believe she is so scared of these movies." Jubilee rolled her eyes and started a conversation with Rogue.

'So much for a night alone with Rogue.' Remy thought and rubbed his eyes.

* * *

On the following morning, Rogue woke up wishing a lightning would strike her before the party started. Or a less drastic solution would be running away. But Jubilee would find her. She had her own spies all over the Institute. She rolled on her bed and saw her roommate was already up and out. And it was only 9am in a Saturday! That was a record for Jubilee.

She rolled over again and decided to stay in bed a few more minutes, when she heard footsteps right above her. She jumped out of bed thinking 'what the hell' and opened her balcony doors.

Trying to be silent, she looked up the roof but there was no one there. She narrowed her eyes in thought and went back into the room, closing the doors behind her.

'Wait! The doors were supposed to be locked.' She kept thinking with her hand still on the door handle. 'Or maybe Jubilee unlocked them before leaving.'

Rogue stood there for a while, looking around the room, sensing something weird, but then shrugged.

"Ah guess Ah'm becoming paranoid after more than week preparing for this party."

* * *

**soooooo, hows it? plz let me know so i can improve or add scenes you would like to see. I'm a very open writter so just let me know and i'll do what i can.**

**Thanks so much for reading =* By the way, i hope you all had a Merry Xmas and have an amazing new year =DD**

**Reviews plz!**


	14. Party time

**Guys, so sorry i spent so long without updating. I had some really bad times here with personal problems. My boyfriend and i broke up =( and i couldn't stand to write anything romantic whatsoever or i'd just start crying. I lost my inspiration for a while so writing was a really hard thing to do. Also i got a job, and barely had time to study for my university.**

**Now everything is solved, thank god. We got back together (weeeeeee =D) and i left the job cuz there was no way i could conciliate it with my studies. I'm happy again and back to writing o/ haha**

**So here is a big chap just for u, and the other will come in 2 days, cuz it's half way done! i spent days writing nonstop cuz the ideas came all at once lol hope you enjoy it and forgive me! =))**

* * *

"Magneto? C'est moi." Remy tapped his fingers on the window, staring at the garden and the kids running around it. "I've been keepin' an eye on the diamond whenever I get the chance, but the place Dr. McCoy keeps it at night is too difficult t' get in. They have all kind of sensors and…" he switched his position impatiently, an angry expression forming on his face. "Of course I can! But I need a higher payment f'r dat… Oh well, use those lackeys o' yours, they must be useful f'r somet'ing. Raise the payment or I'm out." He was about to hang up but Magneto said something that made him stop and listen again. "Dat's better. I'll show up t' get my tools tomorrow. Trés bien. Don' worry, Remy is very discreet. Oui, I am sure! Bye!" He finally slapped his mobile shut and rested his forehead on the window glass, trying to cool down. If he had to do this job, at least he should get a good payment for it. He was hoping that more money would make him feel less guilty about betraying those people.

_'Non. I'm not betrayin' anyone. I came here t' work and dat's what I'm supposed t' do.'_ He thought while softly beating his head repeatedly to the glass. _'Y' fool. Dat's what happens when y' play too much while doin' a serious thing._ _Think 'bout the money, all y' can do wit' it, and your freedom. Y' will be free, Remy y' idiot. Free f'r once in your life. Then there will be cars, trips, casinos, drinks, femmes…'_ At that last word he frowned. The first image that came to his mind was her.

Her… that thought was growing stronger in his mind and that pissed him off. He punched the wall and groaned. It wasn't right to get involved during a job, even if it was just some flirting.

"It's just flirting." He muttered but it didn't sound like those words belonged to him. Remy realized he had been repeating that every single day, at least three times, and each time the words sounded more and more uncertain and cold. And the colder those words got, the warmer he felt when he was around her. _'She is my best friend here… how am I gonna do this t' her?'_ he thought right in the moment someone knocked on his door.

Remy gave a quick look in the mirror and cursed, seeing the awful way he was looking. He hadn't shaved yet, and his hair was a complete mess, with locks of hair falling over his eyes.

The person didn't wait for him to open the door, and peeped inside. And there she was smiling at him, just like he had imagined a few seconds before.

"Rogue! Hey chérie, come on in." he cursed himself mentally for looking like a vagabond in front of her.

"Sorry, Ah should have waited for ya to answer but Ah had to tell ya something!" she closed the door behind her then started laughing, unable to hold it back. Her laugh immediately cleared the room and Remy felt lighter. "You won't believe what Ah just overheard." She grabbed his arm, sat on his bed and forced him to sit by her side. He waited patiently for her to control her laugher, eyeing the beautiful figure sitting on his bed. "Logan… oh Gawd…" more laugher. "He was talking to Ororo. It seems he made a promise to her so she would cheer up and stop thinking about her nightmares."

"What's funny 'bout it?"

"He promised… he promised he would dress up as…" At that point the tears that had been filling her eyes started to drop. "He will be a werewolf." Remy snorted out loud at the same time Rogue did.

"Puppyrine." Remy said and Rogue stopped laughing for a second, staring at him. And then they started laughing again even louder.

"Remy, ya are no good, sugah." Rogue said when she was able to control herself.

"I know." He smirked. "Y' are no good either, listenin' t' private conversations."

She shrugged, sitting Indian style and carefully looking at him. It reminded Remy that he was looking like he had just woke up, all messy and unshaved.

"Nice look. What did ya do?" his jaw dropped at that question. Rogue carefully removed a lock of hair from his face. "Ah lahke it. Why are you giving meh this look?"

"Cherie, I look like trash."

"Yeah, ok. Lahke you could do that even if you wanted." She shook her head and he did the same.

"Mabe' y' laughed jus' a bit too much. It affected y'r brain." He said in a fake concerned voice. "If y' lay down for a while, I may find a way t' fix it."

"Remy, shut up!" she smacked him on the head, but in a quick motion Remy held her wrist gently.

"Y' are out o' y'rself ma belle. Come, lie down." He chuckled and pushed her, making her lose her balance and drop on her back over his pillow.

"Swamp rat, what do ya think yer doing?" she muttered with gritted teeth but it didn't sound as threatening as it should with the shaking of her voice and wide eyes. Remy leaned over her, his arm next to her head and making her freeze in the spot.

"I'm healin' y' ma chérie." He said, still smiling at her funny shocked expression. Her lips parted but she couldn't find anything to say. Somehow Rogue felt that line could refer to something else other than her head… at least the physical part of it. Her eyes met his and once again she was lost in those red orbs.

Remy saw the change in her face and realized what he had just said. His smile disappeared and suddenly he was aware of how close he was leaning over her, their chest nearly touching, her breath reaching his lips. He lowered his eyes to her own parted lips, and then stared into her eyes. The most beautiful emeralds he had ever seen, more than any he had stolen before, were now staring right back at him and the grudge inside him faltered and faded.

Rogue lifted her hand and put a lock of his hair behind his ear, never taking her eyes off his. There was a quick intake of air as she felt his hand on her cheek, but the contact lasted for a second, not enough for absorbing him. Remy took his hand away, but his eyes reassured her it was ok.

"Y' won't hurt me, Rogue." He whispered and his warm breath caressed her face, making her relax.

Right in that moment, a skinny blonde opened Remy's door and purred his name, not realizing Rogue was in there.

"Remy, what about that massage you… ops! Am I interrupting something?" She covered her mouth with her hands and a confusion expression formed on her face. "Rogue?"

Rogue instantly pushed Remy and jumped out of the bed, running a hand through her hair in an awkward way. "Hey… Claire. You're not interrupting anything, Ah was just… chatting with Remy. Ah'm leaving now. Ya'll have fun." She rushed to the door without giving any look back to Remy. When she passed by Claire's side, she could feel the blonde stiffen and move out of the way.

"Rogue, wait!" Remy crossed the distance to his door with two steps but she was already gone, and Claire wrapped her arms around him.

"Let her be, hun. You can have much more fun here with me." She whispered, trying to make him pay attention to her.

"Claire, I…" Remy paused and sighed, still looking at the corridor where Rogue had disappeared. Why the heck was he refusing to stay there? He was still Remy LeBeau, and there was a beautiful blonde in his room. He entered the room again and closed the door behind him. "So, about that massage…?"

* * *

Rogue was feeling awful for being caught in such a moment with Remy. Lying on his bed! She missed a step of the stairs when she thought of that and her stomach chilled.

_'Dang, it's only a matter of time 'till everyone knows about it.'_ she bit her bottom lip.

"What's bothering you, kid?" a gruff voice said behind her and she turned to find Logan carefully analyzing her.

"Logan, hi. Nothing's bothering meh." When he gave her a skeptic look she completed: "It's just that this party is getting on mah nerves, but it's nothing serious."

He still didn't look very satisfied with her answer.

"What ya want meh to say?" Rogue asked exasperated, fully aware he would only be satisfied when he got the answer to a question he hadn't done yet.

"You smell like a certain Cajun these days." There it was!

Rogue closed her eyes for a second. "Please, not you too, Logan."

"Kid, I ain't got nothing to do with it. But if he did something that bothered you, just tell me and I'll cook Gumbo for supper." The worst part was that he sounded serious about it as always. Logan wasn't one to get involved in people's personal lives, but when it came to Rogue, he was extremely over protective. She was like a younger sister to him, or even a daughter, though he would only keep it to the _friends_ word.

"Logan, Ah told you nothing's bothering meh and Ah mean it. Remy has nothing to do with it." she assured him tapping his shoulder. "Thanks for asking anyways." For a moment the Puppyrine word came to her mind but she immediately waved that thought off. Honestly she did feel a bit uncomfortable about that skinny blond entering Remy's room like that, without knocking, and asking for a massage. It was so impolite and vulgar and… and now she was in there with him.

"Rogue?" Logan raised an eyebrow and waved his hand in front of her face.

"Ah… So, how's Ororo?" That question caught him off guard and Rogue felt relieved she diverted his attention.

"She is much better now." His mood seemed to change all of a sudden and he got grumpier than usual. "We made a… deal."

"What kind of deal?" Rogue asked innocently, doing her best not to laugh in Logan's face.

"Kid, I need to fix something at the garage. I'll see you later." He turned and disappeared in the hallway in a matter of seconds.

_'Yeah, sure.'_ She thought and went into the Rec Room, only to be met with a worried Jubilee.

"Rogue, there you are! I sent Kitty looking for you all over the mansion. Where were you?" Rogue opened her mouth but Jubilee didn't wait for her to answer. "Sit down, please. Now!"

"Jubs, are you in a sugah rush?"

"I wish. Rogue, I need to tell you something really serious…" Rogue didn't move so she went on. "It's about Bobby." At that last word, Rogue stood and crossed her arms.

"Jubilation Lee, Ah already told ya Ah don't wanna hear a word about him."

"But Rogue, listen to me. He…"

"Don't! Ah don't wanna know." And to her own surprise, she really didn't.

"This is serious! I'm sure you will be mad at me for not telling you, chica."

"Sugah, Bobby and Ah are through. Don't worry, Ah won't be mad at you for whatever he did or say." She reassured her friend.

"Promise me?" Jubilee was biting her lip, a clear expression of worry which wasn't usual in her face.

"Yes, Ah do."

"Alright." She still looked in doubt whether to say or not. "But don't say I didn't try to warn you."

Rogue nodded and sat down again. "So, how's the preparation for the party?"

Jubilee's face suddenly glowed and there was a flood of words which went on for more than 30 minutes until Rogue could speak again.

* * *

10 minutes before the party, Remy was still checking his looks in the mirror. It took a while to find a nice version of the costume but he managed to do it. He was sure he was looking way better than Gerard Butler's phantom of the opera, even though the outfit was extremely similar. He combed his hair back and tied it, doing all he could to make it look less rebel, then took half of a white mask from his desk, adjusting it properly to his face. His eyes fell to a pink plastic earring lying on his bed and made a mental note to give it back to Claire. He made her promise that she wouldn't tell anyone what she had seen when she came into the room by giving her a massage and much more. Anyways she said she wouldn't have known how explain to people what she was doing in his room, since she had a boyfriend who lived in the mansion too. He didn't want to cause any trouble to Rogue because of that situation.

"Mon ami, y' look hot." He stated, grinning to himself in the mirror. One last detail and he was ready to go pick up Rogue in her room, as they had agreed before. He took a red rose from the vase he had put it and took off in the direction of her room.

Finally he was going to see what costume she had bought. He had spent the last days trying to sneak into her room but it seemed she was keeping it somewhere else. Stopping in front of her door, Remy could feel his anticipation grow so he just took two deep breaths before knocking.

Rogue had just finished putting her red lipstick on, thanking God Jubilee had left 5 minutes before with a boy she didn't recognize because of his scarecrow mask. She tried to calm down and put her hand on the door knob.

When she opened the door, his body tensed. It was the sight of heaven. Or should he say hell?

Remy looked at her from head to toe, and back again, completely breathless. Rogue was the perfect mix of catwoman and dominatrix, with cat mask and high ponytail in place. She was wearing a leather black suit which covered most part of her upper body, but with a low cut that caught his eyes for a few more seconds. It didn't help that she also put a black corset over it, stressing the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. The gloves were still there, but they were made of shiny leather as well and went right above her elbow. He took some time admiring her shaped body, tight waist, but his eyes wouldn't stay in the same place for a long time since all of her looked simply… tempting. But the most amazing of all was that she was wearing a skirt! His heart skipped a beat. He could only see a small part of her legs since she was wearing high stiletto boots that nearly reached her knees but still, he never thought he would get to see so much of her exposed, except in his dreams. He unconsciously groaned, feeling something warm build inside of him.

Rogue could feel a shiver running down her spine when his eyes glowed furiously as they reached her leather skirt. Jubilee had insisted for about half an hour so she would buy that outfit and she was still surprised she had agreed with it. It was hard to admit, but part of her wanted to see how people would react to it. She WANTED to look sexy, and she WANTED people to realize she could be sexy, even if she could not touch. Just because she couldn't have a relation with someone didn't mean she had to walk around like an old lady, or all covered up as if her body was full of scars. And the shiver that was running all over her body now felt good. For sure Remy had seen many girls dressed and undressed, but there he was, frozen and breathless in front of her. She WAS sexy. Then there was something she didn't expect to feel: power.

When Remy looked into her emerald eyes shining from behind the black mask and grinned, he was positive she would blush and look away, or maybe just lower her eyes. She didn't. Instead she smiled back, slightly lifting her head, never breaking eye contact and whispered the sexiest meow he had ever heard. The word was finished with a pout of her red lips and that was it. He could feel something snap inside of him, so loud he was sure she had heard, and it took all his strength to keep control over his body. If he didn't, they would probably be inside her room right now, door locked behind him, and all of that body would be pressed against his. Remy had to take two steps back to try to break that magnetic attraction that suddenly formed, thanking all of his years playing poker for his straight face. The move didn't work the way he wanted because there was still something pulling him to her.

Rogue chuckled, closed the door behind her and shook her head. "Swamp rat, is that a blush?"

His mouth dropped at her words and he realized his face did feel hot. But again, what part of him wasn't feeling hot seeing her like that? It wasn't her clothes, or red pouty lips, or her thighs… Well, they surely helped but mainly it was her attitude… her confidence. That was new.

"Non chérie, it's just dat suddenly it got so hot in here, don't y' think?" he smirked, hiding his surprise at this new Rogue. Or was she there all the time, but they just hadn't been introduced yet? "By the way, can y' purr as well?" he blinked mischievously, handing her the red rose and she gave a clear laugh.

Rogue walked to him and took his arm. "Later, Remy… later." His mouth nearly dropped again at that line and he felt that pull coming back. "Thanks." She said while smelling the rose.

"No problem. By the way, this looks way better than the red baby doll, chérie." he said while leading her downstairs.

"Ya don't look bad either."

"Merci. Y' like the mask? Makes me look mysterious." He smirked.

"No need to wear a mask for you to be mysterious, sugah."

He turned his face to look at her but she just kept looking straight forward, a playful smile still on her lips. A few people were heading in the same direction as them, and no one could help but stop to look at the couple. Rogue smiled to herself when she realized most of the amazed looks were directed to her. The boys had never imagined to see her dressed like that instead of hiding herself. A ghost outfit was the most common bet among them, instead of something involving shiny leather and a skirt. It was like seeing her for the first time ever. Each look she got made her more confident and as they got to the Danger Room, she was surely feeling like a diva. 'Diva? Argh, maybe Ah'm hanging out too much with Jubilee.' She shook her head.

"Ready, chérie?" Remy asked before entering the Danger Room. Rogue nodded firmly and the door opened. They were met with a ghost mansion hall, huge enough to fit all the students of the Institute. The ceiling was high, with many silver and orange balloons, fake bats flying among them and four disco globes positioned above the dance floor which was already full of people dancing to a remix of Thriller. The fog and darkness made it difficult to see very clearly, but it looked magic, with all the disco lights shining here and there nonstop. The walls were black and covered with "haunted" paintings which moved and glowed in the rhythm of the music, just like the floor tiles in the dance floor. There were many small tables with jack o' lanterns on it, and plates with all kinds of candies. The biggest table was on the further side of the hall, the three floors black, purple and orange cake on it, surrounded by nice looking food such as salad, lasagna, roast beef, and others, made by Ororo and Remy. On the corners, many couples sat on comfy dark red couches and talked lively, making fun of each other's costumes, or just making out in privacy.

Rogue blinked twice trying to get used to the darkness, in the moment a sparkling spot came sliding in her direction, followed by a tall someone who found it more difficult to follow. After blinking once again, she realized the sparkling spot was Kitty, in a shiny purple and pink fairy dress phasing through people to get to her, followed by Piotr who was dressed as Frankenstein.

"Rogue! You are like the sexiest catwoman I have ever seen." She exclaimed, a big smile on her petite face. Piotr finally arrived to her side and put an arm around her, while smiling to both Rogue and Remy.

"That's a good bet you won comrade." He said to Remy who smiled proudly at Rogue.

"Don't y' tell me."

The song changed and Kitty started jumping. "Come Pete, I love this song so much. Rogue, let's dance! You guys hold my hand." She said and phased them all through the crowd until they reached a nice spot with enough space to dance. Dancing seemed almost too easy to Kitty, but Piotr was a bit out of his comfort zone just like Rogue. Remy crossed his arms and smirked at her mockingly, waiting for a reaction. Rogue took that as a challenge and surprised him with a quite decent dance. She actually liked to dance but not in front of so many people. Jubilee and Kitty were the only ones in the mansion who had already seen her dancing.

Talking about Jubilee, she passed them in a rush, stopped when she realized it was them and came back. Her eyes toured Remy's whole body before she looked at Rogue with her mouth in a perfect O shape. Her hair was all spiky and messy, matching her modern geisha short kimono and high heels. The make up was heavier than Rogue was used to, but it looked great. A scarecrow rushed to Jubilee's side and his voice shook her out of her trance.

"Jubilee, I thought you were only going to the bathroom…" came Sam's voice from behind the mask. "Oh, hello people! Sorry, it's so crazy in here I get kinda lost."

"Sam?" Rogue moved her lips without making any sound while looking at Jubilee, a mix of surprise and fun in her face. The girl shrugged but Rogue could see a blush forming under the white powder all over her face.

"Chica, I told you this outfit would totally blow people's mind. Everyone is talking about you! Well, not as much as they are talking about Logan." She snorted along with Sam, Kitty and Piotr.

"Where is he?" Rogue and Remy asked simultaneously, looking all around.

"Next to the main table, eating of course. And making sure everyone that looks at him will get growled at." Jubilee laughed.

"I hope we don't have real corpses 'til the end of the party." Piotr said and looked in the direction of the table.

"Let's check it out." Remy took Rogue's hand and dragged her in that direction.

* * *

**plz reviews! lots of themmmmmm hahaha lol**


	15. Careful or you might fall

**Wow this was quick! my class finished so early today, so i just came home and spent the day writing. Personally, i'm in love with this chap. Let me know what you think please. REVIEWS, I BEG! =D thanks for reading**

**by the way, i do not own anything in here, only my ideas haha**

* * *

Wolverine was standing stiff, a piece of meat in his middle claw, and a murderous look on his face. His clothes were torn to shreds and black fur was covering his arms and chest. Rogue avoided staring so she wouldn't piss him off even more than he already was, even though it was hurting her stomach trying to hold the laugh back.

"Hey there, Puppyrine!" Remy said out loud, waving his hand.

"What did you call me Gumbo?" Logan screamed and came flying in his direction but Rogue got in between them, praying she wouldn't get her head cut.

"Logan! I told you already: stop fighting with the students!" Ororo's voice came from behind them. "Can't I even go to check my make up?" She was dressed as an Egyptian queen, with a long white dress, a gold necklace around her neck, many bracelets on her thin wrists and a golden tiara on her head. She was looking like a real goddess.

Logan stepped behind and pointed his claws in Remy's direction. "You better watch your mouth Gumbo or soon you won't have one."

"Rogue will watch it for me tonight." He answered and Rogue punched him on the arm. "Ouch!"

"Nice outfit you two." Ororo smiled at them.

"Ma belle, I could say the same, but I'm mesmerized by a certain catwoman already." Remy joked and Ororo agreed.

"No doubt you are Remy. Who isn't?" she said and put her arm around Rogue. "I'm really glad to see you so confident Rogue."

"But I must say your company is just as… fascinating." Remy teased again, trying to push Wolverine over his limits.

Ororo and Rogue had to get between Logan and Remy again to avoid real blood on the walls.

"Ororo, Ah'll get Remy outta here so y'all can have some fun. See ya." Rogue pulled Remy as fast as she could, heading to a corner. "Are ya crazy, Swamp Rat? Ya got a death wish or what?"

"Mais cherie, I was havin' fun." He pouted. Rogue rolled her eyes and looked around to find a vacant table. "Oh there are the others." She pointed to a table and carried Remy with her.

In three tables put together sat Jubilee, Sam, Kitty, Piotr and five more people. Betsy and Warren, dressed as a devil and an angel respectively; Tabitha dressed as a vampire, with fangs and all; Amara, dressed as an Amazon warrior; and Theresa Cassidy, who wasn't looking much happy, as a corpse.

"Actually it's a banshee." She stated to Kitty, who was previously talking to her.

"Hey guys, can we sit?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, sure luv. Grab a chair." Betsy said.

"Warren, that's a very original outfit you got… did you spend a lot of money?" Jubilee asked ironically. He chuckled and nodded to Betsy.

"It was her idea. I was planning to come as a devil originally. But you know how stubborn she can get, right?"

"Who doesn't?" Jubilee teased and Betsy just ignored them. "So, how is everything? It took all of my energy to organize this party."

"I don't think ten parties like this would take your energy, Jubs." Sam said and the others agreed, among laughs.

"Ha ha, funny scarecrow." She retorted sarcastically.

"Everything is perfect Jubilee, including the DJ." Amara said without getting her eyes off the place where the DJ was.

"I know, it took me a while to find a DJ perfect like him."

"You should become a promoter Jubilee. You did a really good job with everything, Amara's right. Though Ah didn't pay much attention to the DJ, honestly."

"With something like _this _by your side, I didn't expect you to." Jubilee poked Remy's arm and chuckled, making Rogue roll her eyes. She was about to say something when a movement caught her eyes and she froze.

Bobby had just arrived with Lorna by his side. He was dressed as a mummy, and she had a sexy witch dress on, the green matching her hair.

"Rogue, what's… Oh!" Jubilee followed Rogue's gave and held her breath.

Remy felt Rogue twitch her hand and he held it in his, squeezing it gently. "You're ok, cherie?" his concerned eyes met hers and she inhaled slowly.

For a moment she felt a wave of shock wash over her. It didn't take long for him to replace her. She should've known that he was getting someone to come with him to the party, but she couldn't imagine how it'd feel. Now she felt it… and it wasn't that bad. She looked at him and then turned her head to the side when she felt a pressure on her hand. Two rubies were shining for her and her heart rushed, not with anger or jealousy, but with excitement. She took a breath and smiled reassuringly at Remy and then Jubilee. Why was she supposed to get mad and upset for a boy who treated her so poorly all the time when now she was in the company of her friends. And yes, Remy was just a friend, she thought.

"Who flushed Iceboy down? There's toilet paper all over him." Remy said in a worried tone and everyone laughed at that.

"Jubs, Rogue, bathroom now!" Kitty exclaimed and Jubilee seemed alarmed by that code. "Come Rogue."

"Ah'll be right back, sugah." She said to Remy and followed the two girls. They left the Danger Room and got into the dressing rooms.

"Rogue, are you ok?" Kitty asked putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah."

"C'mon."

"Ah'm serious. Why everyone finds it so hard to believe in meh?" Rogue asked feeling frustrated that she always had to repeat at least twice that she was fine.

Kitty and Jubilee looked at each other and then back to Rogue.

"You are different." Jubilee whispered and Kitty nodded.

"Ah'm just not dependent of Bobby anymore. Ah guess Ah spent too long in his shadow, just lowering my head to everything he did and say. That wasn't meh, girls."

Kitty smiled and grabbed something in her purse.

"So just put this on and let's have fun." She handled Rogue a red lipstick.

"You got eyeliner Kitty?" Jubilee asked, checking herself in the mirror.

"Yeah, take it. By the way, I got something to tell you." Kitty's smile grew wider and she could barely keep herself from jumping in the same place.

"You and Pete made out on the red couch." Jubilee said, still focused on the eyeliner. Kitty just stood shocked and the Chinese girl went on. "I saw it all."

"Kitty! That's so great! Ah should have imagined, he couldn't get his eyes off you."

"Yes, it was like totally magic in the moment. I'm so happy I feel I could fly."

"Hey girls." Lorna got in the dressing room and walked to their side. "Rogue, we need to talk." She had a bit of guilt in her eyes, but they couldn't hide their happiness.

"Ah know what you got to say Lorna." Rogue said and Lorna bit her lip and closed her eyes, waiting for an explosion that didn't come. "Ah wish ya good luck. Ah hope it works for you."

"Are you… really, Rogue?" Rogue nodded and Lorna hugged her. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you before but Bobby didn't let me and I felt so bad about it. I was scared of your reaction."

"Me too. But Ah reacted better than Ah expected, it seems."

"Better than we all expected, you mean." Jubilee said. "Can we go dance now? I didn't get all dressed up to spend the night in a dressing room… at least not with you girls."

"Saaaaaaaaaaam!" Kitty teased and Jubilee fired daggers with her eyes.

"Let's go, shall we? I need some more of that punch. Betsy did it and it tastes so good." She walked ahead and Kitty, Lorna and Rogue followed her back to the party. They struggled to get to the table, and Lorna went back to the dance floor where she had left Bobby.

"Thank God you are back. I was starting to feel frustrated. There are three of us without partners here, but the girls only ask Remy to join them." Sam said, playing with his punch.

"And I had t' politely decline. I got my partner for t'night already." Remy took Rogue's hand in his and kissed it, making the other girls sigh.

"You're such a charmer." She smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Girls, I got some punch for us." Betsy said, pointing to a jar in the middle of the table. "Any one taking the risk?"

"I am!" Jubilee said and filled her glass, just like Amara, Betsy and Tabitha. Rogue filled half glass only and sipped it slowly. Kitty gave a suspicious look to the drink and crinkled her nose.

"No, I'm fine." She said and took a handful of marshmallows from the plate in front of her.

"Actually, it tastes good!" Rogue licked her lips and put some more on her glass.

"Secret recipe." Betsy said with a wink.

About an hour later of feasting, making jokes and throwing marshmallows on each other, the girls were laughing easily at anything the boys would say (including "I'll get more food."). Kitty shook her head but couldn't hide her enjoyment when Jubilee all of a sudden stood, took Sam by the arm and carried him to the dance floor. Rogue was about to take another drink when Remy held her glass.

"Cherie, this is your fourth glass. Maybe y' should stop for a while, non?" she nodded, a sleazy smile creeping up her lips.

"Yes, ma'am." She stuck her tongue at him and picked up her plate.

"Don't show me dat tongue unless y' plan t' use it ma belle." Remy whispered and Warren snorted. Rogue sent them a glare but said nothing.

"Ah'll get more lasagna. Be back in a second." She stood and made her way to the main table, trying to dodge from the dancers and boys calling her, slightly tripping on her own feet. Rogue was nearly finished on filling her plate when someone poked her shoulder. She turned and met Bobby's blue eyes.

"Hey Rogue."

"Bobby." Was all she said, no expression on her face.

"Wow, you are looking… different, I mean, great. Hmm, so… do you feel like dancing?" he asked and Rogue stared at him in disbelief. Someone tutted behind him and he turned around to see Remy standing there grinning.

"Dat wasn't our accord, Iceboy. Tonight Rogue dances only wit' me, remember?"

"And what makes you think she wants to dance with you, huh?" Bobby glared at Remy and put a hand on Rogue's shoulder.

"And what makes you think Ah want to dance with you?" Rogue said, untangling herself from Bobby's hold. He looked at her with wide eyes. "Go dance with yer date, Bobby. Ah got mine already. Come, Remy." She took Remy's hand, forgetting her plate on the table, and disappeared from Bobby's sight.

"Cherie?" Remy asked, his voice a bit uncertain.

"What? I mean, what is it Remy?" she apologized for her attitude and turned. 'Damn punch.' She thought.

"Is this a date?" the malice poured in his voice and his smirk.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "You know Ah only said that so he would shut up."

"Hmm so mebbe we could go on a real date one o' these days, what do y' think?" Remy wiggled his eyebrows and Rogue chuckled.

"Get a life, swamp rat." She turned to leave for their table but Remy called her name again. "What is it now sugah?"

"Do y' want t' dance?" he asked with an innocent look which didn't match his eyes, reaching out his hand. Rogue looked at it for a second and then took it.

"Ah guess your bet included dancing."

"Dat's right." He said and the innocent look disappeared. One more time she took the lead, her hips swaying as she danced her way to the middle of the dance floor, which was some kind of easy since people would move out of her way, but there was no fear in their faces, just amazement, and in the case of most girls, jealousy. She danced in a fast pace, eyes closed and a bright smile on her face, which Remy took his time admiring, before moving on to the rest of her body, sensually moving to the rhythm of the music. Rogue lost her balance once or twice, but his hands on her hips kept her from tripping further. Remy could feel she was purposely teasing him moving that way, and the smirk she gave him only confirmed it.

"What? You lahke what you see, sugah?" she teased further.

"Y' jus' can't imagine how much, ma cherie." Remy groaned and pulled her to him, making their bodies bump against each other. Rogue just laughed and pushed him, stepping back, and nearly fell on the floor. Luckily Remy was faster, catching her by her arm and pulling her to him again, only stronger this time. "Careful." He whispered with a husky voice, staring to her lips that were just a breath away, no smile to be seen in his face. They stood like that, none daring to break the contact, each enjoying the sudden closeness. The first one to go back to their senses was Rogue, fully aware of his stare and realizing how close they were to touching. She pushed him gently and he didn't fight it.

"Thanks for catching meh." She said and focused on checking her ponytail, hoping he wouldn't make any comment on the tension that had grown to incredible heights a second before.

"Any time y' need." He joked, trying to break the… he didn't know how to call it, a trance, maybe, he had been in while staring at those red lips. He sighed in relief when he heard the DJ's excited voice in the speakers.

"Hello beautiful people! Now we will announce the costumes of the night! The winner couple will get coupons for the hottest restaurant in town, the Pomme's Bistro, and of course, the traditional first dance here. And now, to announce the winners, the organizer of the party, Miss Jubilation Lee." Everyone clapped and cheered when Jubilee ran to the stage and took an envelope from the DJ's hand.

"First of all, I want to thank you all for coming! And not breaking anything, which is amazing." The DJ whispered something in her ear and she looked disappointed. "Nevermind it. Rahne and Paul, I'll talk to you later. Second, thanks for your votes! And now, on with the show. The winner for best female costume this year is… of course, ROGUE!" she bounced and waved to her friend. A spotlight fixed itself on Rogue and on her gaping mouth. She stood there until Remy poked her side, and she realized she had to walk to the stage. Everyone clapped just like they had to Jubilee, or maybe even louder. When she got to her friend's side, she hissed "Did you do this?"

"No, I swear! You really won. Isn't it great?" her sparkling smile was contagious and Rogue couldn't help but smile too. Jubilee put a sash on Rogue and moved on to announce the male winner. There was a silence of expectation and Jubilee's hilarious expression seemed to say it all. "LOGAN, our favorite werewolf." Everyone burst into laughing and the spotlight focused on him, who was just leaving the room. "Logan, will you come up here?" Jubilee asked.

"Hell I won't!" he yelled to her, punched the control button to open the door, and left. There was a death silence for a brief second and then everyone burst into laugher.

"Ok, ok…" Jubilee sighed and went on. "So, I guess the fair thing to do is announce the 2nd place. REMY, come up here now." She winked at him, and he strolled down the room like it belonged to him, getting sighs from every girl he passed by. Rogue looked down to see Bobby fuming in the back of the room, glaring at Remy as if it could make him trip and break his face. That didn't happen of course, and Jubilee proceeded to put the sash on him too, and give him the coupons. Everyone clapped and screamed again and Remy bowed, winking to Rogue. She could still feel Bobby's death glare and waved at him, a devious smile on her face. "Congratulations you two! Now, the first dance."

Rogue looked at Jubilee, then at Remy, back to Jubilee and then to the DJ, pleading with her eyes he wouldn't put any slow song. It didn't happen either. Just as the song started, Remy took her hand and led her to the middle of the dance floor, which was now empty so they could dance. Rogue saw many people smiling at her and some girls whispering to each other and frowning. The DJ started playing a cheesy slow song but Rogue wasn't even listening to it while Remy put her hand on his shoulder and put his own hands around her waist, slowly leading the dance, finally gaining her attention.

"Congratulations ma belle, though I'm not surprised y' won." He whispered and she smiled at him. One by one, more couples started dancing, and soon the place was again filled with people slow dancing.

"Ah'm not surprised Logan won either." She said, feeling Remy's laugh roll in his chest where her other hand was resting. She felt more relaxed by that sound and put her arms around his neck, just as the DJ changed to a song Rogue recognized as Fade into You, by Mazzy Star. Remy's hand crept up her back, while the other still rested on her waist.

_I wanna hold the hand inside you_

_I wanna take the breath that's true_

His thumb traced circles on her back and she closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of his touch. She was definitely not used to being so close to someone, and even less used to someone wanting to be this close to her, without any shadow of apprehension.

_I look to you and I see nothing_

_I look to you to see the truth_

It was a feeling different from anything he had ever felt in his life, standing there with that girl, in the middle of a crowd, but only able to focus on her. Remy could feel her heartbeat, her breath, the delicate rise and fall of her chest. Everyone around, it didn't matter. His mistakes, his sins, it didn't matter. The real reason for being there in first place, it didn't matter either. It scared the hell out of him but when he saw her peaceful face with closed eyes, trusting he would not touch her or do anything she wouldn't want, it loosened the strings inside him.

_You live your life__, you'll go in shadows_

_You'll come apart and you'll go blind_

Rogue tangled his hair around her finger, still not opening her eyes. For some reason, she wasn't scared of this proximity. She trusted him. She barely knew anything about him, and still she trusted him.

_Some kind of light into your darkness_

_Colors your eyes with what's not there_

'Open your eyes. Open your eyes cherie.' He kept repeating in his mind, longing to see her sparkling emeralds that made him forget all his sins and the pain. As if she heard him, she opened her eyes, reflecting all the lights around them. He could feel that pull coming again, tying him to her.

_Fade into you_

_Strange you never knew_

Suddenly she felt the urge to open her eyes. Her stomach chilled when his red on black eyes pierced hers, deeper than she remembered. 'Just like rubies.' There was a dim glow inside them that made her incapable of looking away. She sighed, unaware her lips slowly parted.

_Fade into you_

_I think it's strange you never knew_

Remy's mouth felt dry and he tried swallowing but couldn't. Her lips seemed to invite his, slightly parted. His heart raced when he felt her hand firmly hold his hair.

_A stranger's light comes on slowly_

_A stranger's heart without a home_

Rogue could feel his heart rushing to keep up with hers, her breathing unsteady. She had never realized how handsome he looked when he was serious, maybe because he had never looked this serious around her. His cocky grin was nowhere to be seen but his lips looked beautiful either way. 'What am Ah doing?' she thought in the back of her head, moving closer to him.

_You put your hands into your head_

_And then smiles cover your heart_

Remy couldn't really put his finger on the moment he had lost it, but he did. To the hell with her powers, with the people around, with whatever else that was yelling in the back of his head. He didn't want to listen to it. He couldn't listen to it. All he could hear was the pump of his heart on his ears, making him dizzy. He wasn't in control anymore. The pull was stronger than him and he leaned to Rogue.

_Fade into you_

'Rogue, stop it. You will hurt him.' She heard herself think. She saw his eyes glowing even brighter than before. 'Ah can't hurt him.' Sadness grew inside as she turned her face, an effort that took all of her will, and put her head on his shoulder, tightening the hold around him, afraid he would turn and leave.

_Strange you never knew_

He felt an unknown sting in his chest when he saw her eyes darken with sorrow, seconds before she turned her face. She held on to him and he could feel her apologizing for that. Remy held on to her letting her know it was everything ok. 'I'm not goin' anywhere, Rogue.'

_Fade into you_

_I think strange you never knew_

She closed her eyes once more, sighing with relief he was still there. He was holding her so tight but she didn't complain. She liked it. She felt she could fade away in his arms and it would all be ok.

_Fade into you_

_Strange you never knew_

Remy pressed his cheek on her head, smelling her hair, closing his eyes. He wanted to hold her tight enough so she would disappear inside of him. They stayed like that, not saying anything until the end of the song, and then for another whole song, and another one.

It was only when Rogue started yawning and leaning more and more to him that Remy thought it was time to go.

"Cherie, come, I'll take y' to your room." He whispered but she shook her head.

"No, Jubilee will take meh." Remy looked around and spotted Jubilee, who was frantically kissing Sam.

"I think she is busy right now. Come." He put his arm around her and got them out of the crowd. He took the rose he gave Rogue from the now empty table and lead the way to the exit.

"Remy, Ah'm tired." She yawned again, probably a side effect of the punch. He chuckled at her childish line and waited for the elevator to take them to the main level.

"Y' think y' can handle the stairs?"

"Ah… Ah guess so."

Remy purposely bumped onto her and she lost her balance. "No y' can't." She squealed when he took her in his arms bride style and climbed the stairs, but her inquietude left her as soon as it came, and soon her head fell on Remy's chest. By the time they reached her room, she was clearly asleep. Remy closed the door behind him and put Rogue carefully on her bed.

"Cherie?"

"Hmmm." She mumbled half asleep.

"Y' need anythin' else?" he whispered while covering her with a blanket. She didn't answer. "I guess not. Good night ma belle." He put the rose on her side table, along with something that was in his pocket, then looked at her a bit uncertain, leaned and gave a quick peck on her forehead.

"Remy…" she mumbled again but said nothing else. Remy smiled fondly and left through her balcony.

* * *

**sooooooooo hows it? plzz i need a feedback. will start working on next chap later. o/**

**Thanks to all the reviewers, you make my day! and my sleepless nights too xD**


	16. Wake up

**I do not own the X-men :( but i do own my ideas!**

**Hopefully you will like this chapter... please let me know :)**

**Oh and thanks so much to my beta, elvenmuggle88; thanks to all my readers and reviewers; thanks for your patience and time haha ;D**

**I'm preparing for my Oscar lol**

* * *

Rogue woke up to Jubilee's loud snoring and rolled over on the bed, groaning and stretching. She felt her hand hit something on the side table and lifted her head to check what it was. There lay a red rose, the coupons she won, and a card which she took and recognized as the Joker. Rogue gave a slight smile and read what was written in the back of it: _Thank you for the wonderful non-date night, chérie. We should do it again. Wear the same dress. -Remy._

Rogue shook her head but realized that that movement was painful. She had a terrible headache, thanks to the punch and a very bad night of sleep. She would often wake up (actually, it was a state of asleep/awake) to the sound of steps above her, to strange dreams involving red eyes staring at her, whispers, and a dark figure. In some moments, she wasn't sure if it was a dream or if it was real; her head felt too dizzy and confused to find a difference.

Opening her drawer, she searched for the aspirin and filled a glass with the water that was in a jar over her side table. After taking it, she decided it was better to shower since she still had on last night's clothes and make up. '_Ah must be looking lahke a panda…_' she thought and confirmed it after checking herself in the mirror. It wasn't an easy process to remove the make up, but she finally managed to do it and stepped into the shower. Her body welcomed the warm water, so she just stood there for a while before actually showering, thinking about the events of the night. Rogue bit her lip when she remembered the tension that had abruptly grown between her and Remy while they were dancing. Suddenly the warmth of the water reminded her of his body pressing against hers and again the butterflies invaded her stomach, causing her to breathe faster.

"Control yerself, Marie. It was just a dance. Stop imagining stuff." Rogue thought out loud but she was sure her real thoughts were different. Of course she wasn't imagining stuff. She was a bit sleazy, for sure, but what happened there was real. Remy had felt it too and his body had responded to hers. She could still feel his heartbeat, his breath reaching her lips, his own parted lips inviting hers. An abrupt intake of air caused the water to shoot into her nose and she coughed repeatedly.

"No, no. He was just being a guy. The reaction would be the same if it had been another girl instead of meh, and he would probably have kissed her. He can't kiss or touch me so this makes no sense." And it made no sense to keep thinking about him either, even if her mind refused to obey.

Forty minutes later, Rogue got into her pajamas after deciding she deserved a few more hours of sleep. Jubilee's snoring still sounded like a scene from The Exorcist, but Rogue didn't really care since she was too tired to pay much attention to that. She laid down and almost immediately fell asleep again, this time without any dreams of footsteps, just the red eyes. But it felt good.

* * *

The sun was in its peak when Remy finally woke up, the sound of people running outside his room and the screams coming from the open window making him groan. He put his pillow over his head, trying to drown out the sound, but it was useless. Checking the clock (and once again groaning), he went into his bathroom and washed his face. He had stayed up all night and part of the morning thinking about everything that had happened to him in the last months. It gave him a real bad headache but he couldn't ignore it anymore; especially after last night. Another groan followed that thought. Remy didn't know how or when the situation got so out of control. Maybe that was another reason that his head was still hurting. He had hit it numerous times while whispering curses at himself. His anger grew when he remembered each day was one less in a countdown to the day he would betray those who had accepted him without any questions. They would be proven wrong about him, about the man they imagined him to be. So why just keep getting more involved with these people? This was a job like any other he had picked before, and his first rule was never mixing personal life and work. He was a thief, for God's sake. The best at what he did, as a matter of fact, and the kind of behavior he was having lately didn't suit him.

Those confusing thoughts were tormenting him night and day, giving him the worst nightmares he had had in months. There was only one thing that would ease all that, but then even that was tormenting him.

Last night had been...he sighed at the word he couldn't say. That situation wasn't in his plans, but again, what was? It was the first time he lost control of everything like that. Remy flinched as he felt his heart pounding on his ears after remembering how it felt to have Rogue in his arms. It was annoying how his heart seemed to have a life of its own when it came to her, and he hated that. '_Well, maybe not hate'_, he thought. But he could feel something as strong as hate take over him when his heart went nuts like that.

Remy splashed his face with cold water again then lifted his head to stare at his image in the mirror.

'_What are ya' doin' to yourself?_' He thought, not sure of what he was expecting to happen next. Maybe his image would grin at him and give a smart answer. But all he could see were his tired eyes filled with more questions.

A cold shower and a couple aspirins later, Remy put on a pair of light jeans, a white shirt, and his usual trench coat, then went to have a walk around the mansion. He didn't really know where he was heading, but his feet took the lead. When he stopped to pay attention, he was standing in the library. It made perfect sense because it was the quieter place inside the mansion, apart from the Medical Wing (when there weren't any missions, of course).

A beautiful figure was sitting by the window, her white hair reflecting the rays of sun. Her face was serene as always, but his empathy could catch a hint of sadness and nostalgia. Remy thought twice whether or not to bother her, but perhaps she needed to talk, or just some company.

"Hey, Stormy." Remy said from the library door.

"Hello, Remy. Sorry, have you been standing there for long? I was a bit lost in my thoughts."

"Non, just got here." He said while approaching her, trying to hold back a yawn.

"Did you sleep well?" Ororo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oui."

"You don't look like you did." She smirked and Remy sighed, rubbing his eyes in the process.

"Ok, I barely slept at all." He admitted, crumbling on the opposite chair.

"What happened?"

"Lots of thinkin'… but it's nothin', really. Talkin' 'bout sleepin'… how have ya' been feelin'? Still havin' nightmares?"

"Well, sometimes. Every now and then." Her face fell and he carefully took in her expression.

"Seems nobody's sleepin' properly around here, eh?" He muttered, getting a nod from Ororo. There was a moment of silence where Remy stared out of the window, compulsively running his fingers through his hair.

"Are you ok Remy? You look like something's bothering you as well." She whispered in a concerned tone.

He thought about giving a silly answer and changing the subject, but the quick look into her worried eyes made him change his mind.

"Just stuff, Stormy. Lots o' things goin' through my mind." His gaze was lost somewhere outside again, as if he found it easier to speak without making eye contact with her.

"Things like…?" She encouraged him.

For a moment, Remy wondered if he should open his mouth, but the growing chaos inside of him provided the answer. He couldn't hold it back in himself for longer or it would drive him completely insane. He had to share it with someone. With another quick glance to the weather goddess, who gave him a delicate nod, he made up his mind.

"…The past. The past, Stormy." Remy said with a heavy sigh. Ororo never imagined he could look more tired than he did before, but now he looked weary. "It still haunts my present…" His voice was barely a whisper. "It's been keepin' me awake."

"Remy, everyone here has issues with the past. I know it's hard because I had troubles with it myself. But you can't let it bring you down."

"Ok." He said. But the expression in his face didn't change. Ororo took his hand in hers, trying to give him some support.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" she asked but there was no answer. Then she touched his cheek, turning his face in her direction, and frowned when she looked straight into his eyes. "You are a fun, smart, and witty man Remy, but when I look into your eyes… there is so much behind them. Too much for such a young person." She paused, trying to understand the reason he was so scarred and bitter inside. He was always gentle and funny to everyone, but looking deep into those eyes, she could see the sorrow radiating from him. Not only sorrow, but anger and fear also. "What happened to you, Remy?" She asked more to herself than to him, her voice filled with concern, knowing the answer wouldn't come. "You are an enigma, you know?" She lowered her hand but the frown was still on her face. For a second, she could swear his eyes had a humid brightness in them. Just for a second. Remy swallowed hard and tapped her knee, then shrugged.

"I've seen worse enigmas around here." He stated with the shadow of a grin gracing his lips, making Ororo grin softly as well.

"I think I know who you are talking about." She said knowingly. Remy rested his chin on his hand and went back to staring out of the window. "The fact is that we all had our bad times, some more than others. Many of the people living here had to run away when their powers appeared. However, in this Institute we find a refuge, Remy. Some come here to start all over, to leave the past completely behind. Others come for redemption from the mistakes they've made. Most come for both."

"Redemption…" Remy said under his breath, lost in his thoughts.

"Yes. That's Logan's case for example. He only recently learned about a tiny part of his past. Imagine living without most of your life's memories."

"Sounds good t' me." Remy shrugged.

"No! It's terrible. Imagine waking up one day without remembering your name or who you are. Imagine living everyday wondering what kind of person you used to be, if you ever loved anyone, if you ever had kids, if you ever killed someone, if you were a decent person. You don't remember your childhood, the name of any of your friends, the place you used to live. It's terrible, Remy. You don't have a direction, a guideline. All you know is that someone experimented on you and made you a weapon."

As soon as he heard the words _experimented on_, his hand automatically reached the scar on the back of his head. Ororo didn't notice as she was discreetly wiping a lonely tear on the corner of her eye.

"Now ya' said it, doesn't sound pleasant at all. I'd go crazy!" His admiration for Logan grew a lot more after imagining how it'd be to be in his place. It would be like a never ending nightmare.

"Remy, I'm not asking you to forget about your past. Just don't let it control your present. Don't let it define who you are." He finally looked at her. "The past is a good thing, just like our memories. It's like a guide that we look at to remind us how we've got here, the path that we've traveled. And with that, you can decide how you are going to change your future."

Once again, deep silence surrounded them until Remy finally managed to find his voice.

"I…" He shook his head. "Merci, Stormy."

"You are more than welcome, Remy. You haven't been here for long, but I already consider you a friend." She flashed her always comforting smile at him.

"So do I, believe me." Remy's smile was a bit weaker, but not less sincere. In that moment, his mobile started vibrating and he froze.

"You're not answering?" Ororo asked.

"Hmm." He took a glance at the name on the screen and recognized it as Pietro. "Non, it's jus' dis fille I met last week. Nothin' serious, so I'll jus' ignore it." He shrugged, trying to keep his face from growing pale. Ororo was going to comment on that but a dog suddenly came running into the room.

Remy gave Ororo a '_what the heck_' look, but when he looked again to the dog, it had been replaced by a redhead girl.

"Rahne, what happened? I told you not to run like this in the house." The weather witch stood, crossing her arms.

"Sorry, Miss Munroe. But you need to see what's on TV." She transformed herself again and ran to the Rec Room with Remy and Ororo rushing behind her.

There, most of the X-Men and some students gathered around the TV, facing it with shocked faces. Remy's face became a mask as he watched the reporter standing in the middle of a confusion of debris, firefighters running, ambulances, cops trying to keep everyone behind the yellow band, and other reporters trying to get a good view of the place. Ororo put her hands over her mouth and fell sitting on an empty chair.

"_We are broadcasting live from where a terrorist attack happened just half an hour ago. The authorities refuse to give information about the case, but according to witnesses, it was a mutant attack._" The woman proceeded to talk to a few people, who gave scattered descriptions about what had really happened. At that point, Remy was clutching his mobile in his hand, paying attention to each word, and barely noticed when Rogue came into the room, still in her pajamas and looking like she had just heard what happened.

"_It is said that four men, which were mutant, came here and started destroying cars and blowing things up. The guards of a bank across the street tried to stop them, with no success. Most stores in the street were destroyed, including the walls of the bank. We still don't know if they took any money, but the police are investigating. Four bank guards were killed while trying to stop the terrorists and a few costumers had to be rescued ..._"

A loud _boom_ made everyone jump off their feet and turn to Remy with wide eyes. He had just thrown his mobile on the wall and it exploded, leaving a huge hole.

"Remy!" Rogue took his arm but he shrugged it off and left the room. She followed him and took his arm again, making him turn. The expression in his face made her let go as if she had just received an electric shock. His eyes were burning orbs, his expression one of pure wrath and his lips twisted in a grimace. Her breath got caught in her throat and she shrunk against the wall. She had to admit to herself it was a damn frightening vision. Rogue had never imagined that he could ever get this angry or look this intimidating, especially when she was used to see him joking all the time and smiling at her. '_It's still him._'

"Re-Remy…" Her weak voice sounded weird to her own ears. "Are you ok?" '_Stupid question._' "Ah mean… talk to meh." She really didn't know what to say or do to calm him down.

He kept striding back and forth along the corridor, only stopping to answer her.

"Didn't ya' hear it? They killed four people!" His rage only got worse and even his hands were glowing now. "They murdered four innocent people!" '_And it's my fault._' He thought with a hand on his head. His voice was failing and Rogue couldn't tell if it was just anger or unshed tears. That thought gave to her legs the impulse to get closer to him again.

"Sugah, Ah know. Ah'm really angry and upset too but you need to calm down." Since he wouldn't stop and look at her, she pulled him by his trench coat then cupped his face on her gloved hands. "Remy, calm down." She whispered and this time he seemed to listen. He took a few breaths and his eyes went back to normal. However, his face was still marked with anger.

"Rogue?" A tiny voice called her from the door of the Rec Room. Jubilee was standing there with other students, all looking worriedly at the two of them. "Is he ok?"

"Yes, he is just having a bad reaction to the news. Guess he's not used to it." Everyone seemed to accept that explanation pretty well, since they were really frustrated with the incident as well. After years of fighting mutant terrorists and mutant haters, they were used to this kind of news but it didn't make things less painful. It was normal for someone to have an out burst once in a while, just like Remy did. The students went back in the room to listen to the rest of the news and Remy was left alone with Rogue.

He was finally managing to calm down, (at least on the outside) and his senses were starting to work again. He could hear the voices coming from the room, taste something bitter in his mouth, and see Rogue's pale face. And he could also feel her hands slightly shaking on his face. Then he remembered the frightened look on her face only moments before. She had been scared of him, and right now she was still tense.

"Chérie." His husky voice was apprehensive but still soothing. "Desolé. Didn't mean t' scare ya' like that." He held her hands still cupping his face and apologetically stared into her eyes.

"Ah know you didn't. It's ok now." Her voice was still weak but her gaze was intense and firm.

He shook his head and hugged her. She was taken aback by his movement, but the French murmurs in her ear and the warmth that came along with it made her relax. Maybe relax a bit too much, as she rolled her eyes in delight. Rogue called herself back to reality, reminding herself of the horrible events that had just happened and Remy's angst.

Remy kept holding on to Rogue for dear sanity. The words of the reporter kept repeating themselves in his mind. Those guards were killed because of him. It was him who asked for more money. He should've known anything he asked from Magneto would come covered in innocent blood. Now, his hands were stained as well. He pulled himself from Rogue, half expecting to see blood marks on her clothes.

'X-Men, come to the Conference Room immediately. That includes you, Remy.' Xavier's voice resonated in their heads. Rogue gave one final look to Remy and went upstairs to get a robe. Remy couldn't help but wonder why Xavier called him too. There was no way the man had connected the facts. Was there?

* * *

When he arrived in the Conference Room, he found the Professor speaking in a very sad tone to Cyclops and Beast. Wolverine was standing in the further corner of the room, smoking a cigar. The Professor was so concerned that he didn't even bother to complain. Remy sat there in silence, not daring to interrupt the conversation. Soon, all the other team members arrived and took their seats, all looking either sad or frustrated. Rogue sat on his side and gave a side glance at him, making sure he was ok. Bobby sat on the chair next to Rogue's and clutched his hands as he saw her eyes constantly moving to Remy. Xavier turned to his students and spoke, trying to remain calm in front of them.

"X-Men, this attack is a shock to us all. It's terrifying how someone could do this to innocent people. Many more could have died but this terrorist group wasn't focused in killing humans. And this brings us to the main question. Why did they do it? Cyclops thinks that maybe they just wanted some sort of attention and to bring chaos, but Beast thinks they were after something or someone. I want to know your opinions."

No one answered at first but then Piotr decided to speak. "Professor, do you think Magneto has something to do with this? They mentioned the fire and I thought…"

"Pyro." Bobby completed his train of thought.

Xavier sighed and nodded. "I had the same idea. But we can't ignore the fact that there are many other mutants which can create fire or control it somehow. I don't see why Magneto would do this without any special reason. So if it was him, we have to find out what he wanted by causing that attack."

"Attention?" Logan sarcastically grunted, quoting Cyclops idea. The other man just ignored him.

"The news mentioned a bank. Do you think they were after money?" Rogue gave a try, raising her eyes to him. Remy couldn't help but feel scared at how close she had gotten.

"It's a possibility." Beast said. "But why burn down everything like that? Magneto tends to be much more objective when he wants something. He gets there, takes what he wants, and leaves."

"He is hiding something…" Betsy whispered and then looked at all the others. "Remember how they behaved at the mall? They were aiming for the diamond but they nearly destroyed half of the place. Magneto is changing his pattern. He is trying to confuse us, divert our attention. Maybe he was after the money."

"Very good, Betsy." Scott said. "Whatever Magneto's been doing, he needs money. Of course, it's only assumptions. We need to investigate and try to find any clue that leads us to him. As the Professor said, it is possible it was him, but there is also a possibility it was an independent group of mutants."

"Wolverine, Shadowcat, Gambit, and Storm, you will look for clues in the place of the attack. Search for anything, even inside the bank." Xavier said, and then focused on Remy. "I decided it's time for you to go on your first mission. Also, your bounty hunter skills will be of good use. You mentioned you are good at tracking and searching."

Remy agreed with a quick nod. "Merci, Professor. I really appreciate your trust." He couldn't be more grateful for that chance, since he just couldn't stay at the mansion and wait for the X-Men to find clues.

"That's good, Gambit. You may go with them. It will be your first mission. Good luck." Xavier dismissed them and the ones assigned for the mission left to change into their uniforms. Before Rogue left, Bobby called her name but she just ignored it. He went after her and only stopped when she told him to get a life. Lorna's eyes filled with sadness and she shook her head at Bobby's lack of sensibility.

* * *

**R E V I E W S ! ! =D =D I N E E D I T lol my head is rushing with ideas for the next chapter, but i'm taking any suggestions. if you got anything you'd like me to write, tell me and i'll do what i can. let me know!**

**oh, who has been visiting Rogue? hahaha make your bets**


	17. InSanity

**Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, but i do own Remy HA HA HA my precioussssssss ... jk, i do not own Remy -.-**

**decided to show just a lil more angst in this one, but it's still nice... nothing depressing. hope you all enjoy! let me know what you think please!**

**WARNING: So, I got chap 18 nearly ready, but as I started reading this fic again, i found out I'm not entirely happy with it, so I'm adding more things to the previous chapters. I think after writing 17 chapters, you start to become more critical about your story. Since I'm trying to improve at every chapter I write, I think it's reasonable that I improve the chapters I already wrote. I'm not changing the story or the plot, just adding new things, improving what's already there and making things deeper. This sudden decision may be because of a depression hitting me lol but at least I'm using it for a good thing. ;)**

* * *

Remy was about to get into the changing room when Storm called him. He turned to see her holding a black uniform with an X on the chest.

"Gambit, this is your new uniform. All the X-Men have one and since you're going on your first mission, it's time for you to have one as well." She handed him the uniform with a smile.

"Well… Merci, Ororo." He didn't really know what to say. This entire situation was making him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

"Call me Storm while we are on our missions, Gambit." She tapped his shoulder and went to change her own clothes.

After Remy had changed too, he stared at his image on the mirror and sighed. When he thought everything was a chaos already, there he was making more bonding.

'It's just a uniform, nothing else. Chill. Go there and eliminate the clues.' His body returned to its always relaxed and cool posture, a sly smirk on his lips. 'Now you keep that damn face on.'

"Ready, Cajun?" Wolverine asked.

"As always. Shall we?" Gambit put on his trench coat and nodded towards the doors. "Ladies first." He smirked.

"So what are you doing standing there? Move." Both of them chuckled and then Gambit shrugged.

"Ok, since y're too scared, I'll be a gentleman and face the danger first."

Wolverine muttered something and they left for the hangar. Instead of taking the Blackbird, they would take a small helicopter. Professor X showed up at the hangar and told them to avoid using their powers in public, and then when they got there he would use his mind power to paralyze everyone inside the security area, just like he had done in a museum once. He would fly the helicopter and make sure they didn't have any trouble in landing it. Then, Storm took some time explaining how they would proceed when they got there, and some more time telling Gambit how they worked as a team and each one's role in case of a fight. Clearly, he took in all the information he could and asked many questions all the way until they approached the top of a business building in the center of New York City. Xavier focused with his eyes closed and they got the permission to land. Storm smiled at him and then distributed coats for all of them, except Gambit, so they would cover their uniforms while walking on the streets.

They wanted to be as discreet as possible so they parted in two groups to get to the crime scene. Storm went with Wolverine in the crowded street, moving as shadows, and not getting two glances from people. Gambit and Shadowcat climbed a building and kept their eyes focused on the white hair moving below them. They still had a long way till they got to their destination and Shadowcat seemed to be getting nervous with the silence. Keeping her mouth shut for too long was almost a torture and there were so many things she wanted to ask the man beside her. She tried to bite her tongue but it had a life of its own, and just as the focus of her concentration changed to jumping from a rooftop to the other and not losing her balance, her tongue slipped out of control.

"Are you feeling better? You got like, so nervous when you saw the news. I know how you feel. I used to cry whenever I saw those things on TV. You know, those people had a family, kids, dreams…"

She went on for a few more minutes and her words only made Gambit's stomach sink. He wondered if she would give him a break to answer, or maybe her quick train of thought would lead her to another subject, hopefully. However, Shadowcat kept on talking and soon Gambit's mind was able to become idle, focusing on climbing the higher buildings and keeping an eye on Storm and Wolverine. They had nearly reached their destination when something she said made his mind snap back to reality.

"So, Rogue was really gorgeous last night, don't you think?"

Gambit turned his head to her, surprised with the totally unexpected subject. He couldn't even imagine how she had gotten to that point and wondered how many things could go on at the same time in the petite girl's head.

"Oui, of course." He said, uncertain of what else to say.

"You like her?" Shadowcat's tone was of pure innocent curiosity, reminding Gambit of a kid.

"She is my best friend at the mansion, petite. I like her very much." He decided to be honest. Not completely honest but still…

"She likes you a lot too. But I don't think your eyes scream 'just friends' when you look at each other…" Suddenly, Gambit realized how perspicacious that 'little girl' really was. Shadowcat gave him one last grin and phased with him through the wall of the building, meeting Storm and Wolverine who were waiting for them on the corner of the street.

There were still policemen and reporters on the place and a few curious people stopped to have a peek, but all of them looked like statues, with blank looks on their faces. Other people passing by didn't seem to notice that, walking past them as if they weren't there.

The whole block was isolated and two small stores had crumbled. Gambit could see clear signs that Avalanche had been there, like the crates and cracks on the street.

"Wow!" is all Shadowcat whispered.

"Remember what I said before. Gambit, search for the security tapes. Wolverine, try to identify any familiar smell, such as Pyro or Magneto. Shadowcat, check the safes in the back. I will inspect the stores to see if they left something behind, or even a message. And don't make a mess! Let's go." Storm's orders were clear and direct, and they went straight to work.

Gambit headed straight for the bank, with Shadowcat by his side. He thought she would be used to those kind of missions but her sad eyes made him feel a bit doubtful about it. His stomach turned as he saw the entrance of the bank nearly reduced to ruins. The walls had huge cracks and the paint was blistered where fire had scorched it, there were piles of debris everywhere, and as he tried to cross the hall to get to the security room he stepped on something soft. Gambit took the burnt doll and breathed hard, holding back the impulse of blowing something up.

"What is it?" Shadowcat approached him, covering her mouth with her hands. "Oh God…"

"She is alive. Only guards o' the bank died." He whispered. "Dis fille is alive."

Gambit put the doll on his trench coat pocket, his hands shaking, and moved on to the security room, as his team mate moved to the safes.

The place was nearly intact, and three men with lab objects in their hands, which he assumed to be the crime scene investigator, were bent over a desk. His eyes quickly scanned the place and stopped in a plastic bag in one of the man's hand. There was a video tape inside it and Gambit didn't hesitate to take it. Checking around to see if anyone was coming, he sat and decided to watch it. He immediately regretted it. The chaos and despair in the scenes reflected inside him. He saw when Pyro set the entrance doors on fire; people trying to escape through the broken glass windows; a guard carrying a tiny girl in his arms as she screamed when her doll fell from her hands; the same guard getting back inside and falling down as the ground started to shake; the fire was out of control…

Gambit stopped the tape and removed it. A slight charge and he could smell the burnt tape. There was no expression on his face as he stood and put the it back where it was. His brain just had one concern at that moment: keeping him sane. Part of him just wanted revenge and another part knew he had to keep his cool and check for the other tapes quickly. There was no way he could let the X-Men track the Brotherhood.

After he had found all tapes and destroyed any evidences, he returned to the street and met Wolverine and Shadowcat. Storm took a few more minutes to return, but she hadn't found anything significant.

"They didn't leave anything behind. What did you find, Wolverine?"

"Can't really smell anything in particular. Too many… burnt stuff." His last words came out grumpier than usual, and no one dared to ask more about it.

"I found something though." Shadowcat stepped forward and pointed to the bank. "They took money, that's for sure. They broke into some safes and took all the money inside."

Storm thought about it for a while and then looked around. "Maybe if we go beyond the security area the smell of all that money can give us a clue, don't you think?" she asked Wolverine, and he shrugged.

"Let's try."

It took them a few minutes walking around the blocks on the surrounding area, until Wolverine finally caught the smell of something. He walked faster and the others followed right behind him. It wasn't a short way and took about forty minutes until they reached a dead end: the sea.

"So they took all that money!" Shadowcat exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Don' think so. Look." Gambit pointed to three bags near a bush. They approached and found it filled with money.

"They left it?" Now the petite girl's eyes were nearly popping out. "Why would they leave it?"

"Guess they realized it would be hard t' get away wit' all dis cash. Especially after all the mess they caused."

"I don't smell anyone familiar. Pyro wasn't here, Storm." Wolverine walked around and made a negative sign. Gambit raised an eyebrow, slightly confused and impressed at how the Brotherhood had managed to dribble Wolverine. Where had Pyro gone?

"Let's go home then. It was probably a group of mutant vandals using their powers to get money. They must have freaked out when things got so out of control." She said and contacted the Professor. They waited and soon heard the sound of the helicopter approaching.

* * *

"So it was a real waste of time going there. I was sure it had something to do with Magneto." Bobby said when all the X-Men were sitting on the Conference Room and the group had just finished their mission's report.

"It wasn't a waste of time, because now we are sure it wasn't Magneto." Rogue said and Ororo nodded in agreement.

"And we found the money. I already called the police anonymously and told them where the money is. I just wish we had found something about the ones who did that." Ororo gave a frustrated sigh. Everyone around the table looked uncomfortable, including Remy but for different reasons. He had been thinking about how the Brotherhood had escaped so easily without leaving many traces behind, which wasn't usual. None of them had the tendency of being discreet and careful.

No one seemed in the mood to add anything else to the discussion so they all stood and left. Rogue seemed uncertain whether to talk to Remy or not. She was positive he was still shaken but didn't know if he wanted to be alone or talk. He seemed strangely idle to everything around him, staring straight ahead and walking firmly.

"Rogue if you want to just go there and ask if he wants to talk to you." Jubilee whispered to her, seeing the indecision on her friend's face. Rogue turned to look at her, shaking her head.

"Ah don't think Ah should intrude so much into his business."

"You don't look too certain about that."

They walked to their room in silence and Rogue only spoke when they closed the door.

"Jubilee, Ah know Remy well enough to know he doesn't lahke to talk about him. Whenever Ah tried before he would avoid the subject. Ah don't want to make him uncomfortable by forcing him to open up."

"I thought that mysterious charm was just… you know, charm." Jubilee shrugged.

"It's not. But Ah respect that. That's why Ah didn't talk to him. He knows Ah will listen when he feels ready to talk, so he will come if he needs meh."

* * *

Remy only stepped in his room to get the keys of his motorcycle. His curiosity and his anger were too strong for him to just sit there and wait for news. Anyways, the news wouldn't come soon, since he had destroyed his mobile phone. So he left for the Brotherhood as fast as he could. Not even the loud roar of the motor seemed to silence his mind. For a moment or two, he had completely lost attention to where he was going and had to return a few blocks to take the right direction.

It was getting dark when Remy finally arrived to the Brotherhood. He waited until someone opened the door. It was John.

"Oh, you. We've been trying to call you for hours. Where have you…" John was cut off when Remy grabbed him by the neck and pushed him inside, closing the door behind him.

"Murderer. Did y' enjoy it, bâtard? I hope y' did, because y' will never use y'r powers again after I'm done wit' y'." Remy let go of his throat and punched him, making John stumble down the hallway.

"What did I do? We were doing what you asked us to!" John replied, checking if his mouth was bleeding.

"I didn't ask y' t' kill anyone!" Remy screamed and pulled him up just to punch him again. This time, John took his Zippo and flames surrounded the infuriated Cajun.

"Hey John! Calm-down." Pietro showed up and put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"Can't y' fight like a man? Hiding behind y'r powers, eh?"

"Will-you-shut-up? I'm-trying-to-save-the-house." Pietro complained but the flames disappeared and John jumped up.

"You'll regret this, you stupid Cajun." John tried to punch Remy but was too slow. He ended up with Remy's hand around his throat again, this time pressing him against the wall.

"Non. It is y' who will regret every second o' suffering y' put that people through." His voice had never sounded that dangerous, even to his own ears. The energy was pulsing through his body making it glow dimly. John breathed with difficulty, not daring to look into Remy's eyes.

Pietro tried to get in between but ended up with a glowing card in front of his nose.

"If y' try t' get in the way, I'll take care of y' first. Cause I know y' were involved as well. Where is the money?"

"I-thought-you-didn't-want-it-anymore." He hesitated when he saw the other man's face. "Ok-ok. We-hid-it-on-the-sewers-under-the-bank. There's-a-map-on-the-kitchen's-table. Take-it."

"What's going on here?" Wanda's furious voice suddenly came from the stairs and the lamps failed for a second. "You woke me up, you bunch of idiots! I told you my head hurts."

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and her eyes scanned the whole scene. Remy didn't take his eyes from Pietro, who was pale like a ghost.

"Wanda, stay away. This is between me, Pyro and y'r brother. Then I'll get the others."

"You won't touch my brother." Her tone was low and dangerous.

"I'll do what I came here to do." He replied.

"Let go of my brother."

"Stay away…"

"Let go of him!" her voice raised.

"I told y' t' stay away!" He screamed at her, and before he even realized what he was doing, he turned and threw a glowing card in her direction. With on quick movement of her hand, Wanda deflected the card and it exploded on the wall.

"And I told you to STOP!" She screamed back. This time a lamp right above Remy's head exploded and a window broke upstairs.

Remy looked at her with a livid face, startled at what he had just done.

"Wanda… I'm sorry. I… I just lost it."

"I know how it is." Her expression was cold but she could hardly hide the worry in her voice. Her eyes pierced through his as if she was trying to understand what was going on inside him. Remy was the first one to break eye contact.

"Y' are protecting murderers. Are y' like them too?"

"What are you talking about?" She furrowed her brows.

"Didn't y' hear about their latest entertainment? It's all over the news." He took the little burnt doll he was carrying in his pocket and threw it at her.

She stopped the doll in the air with her powers and held it gently in her hands.

Remy headed for the kitchen. There was a map in it with some things written in red on the table.

Wanda was still staring at the doll when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Remy whispered. For a moment, the girl kept staring at the doll then looked at him.

"I think I'm sorry too." She sighed.

"Didn't mean to hurt y', ever."

"I know. Just don't let it happen again, or it might be with someone who can't stop that card. You don't want that weight on your shoulders. Believe me, I know."

He nodded and walked to the door.

"Remy?" came Wanda's voice from behind him.

"Yeah." He whispered without turning.

"Is she alive?" Her voice was firm but he could feel the sadness irradiating from her.

"Oui. But her savior didn't have the same luck." He opened the door and left.

Wanda stood there and listened as he took off on his motorcycle. John massaged his neck and approached her.

"That man is crazy!"

"Shut up, you moron." Wanda glared at him and he instantly closed his mouth. "Pietro, what was he talking about? What did you do?" She hissed at her brother.

Pietro looked around with a guilty look, waiting for someone else to answer and scared of her reaction. He sighed when John spoke before he could freak out.

"He asked for it. Gambit wanted more money for the job. So we went there and got it." as Wanda kept glaring at him, he went on. "Ok, we didn't really know how to do this and be completely invisible to the X-Men but that Essex guy that comes here at times gave us a clue on how to act. And it worked. Of course a few people got hurt but…"

"A few people died." She stated.

"So what?" Immediately, he knew he shouldn't have said that.

"So what?" She approached him, clutching her fists, and the remaining lamps in the house exploded.

"It was for the cause!"

"No, it wasn't! It was for a damn sack of money! This had nothing to do with mutants or humans." She hit him with a hex bolt and once more John found himself on the floor.

"Sister, wait." Pietro called her.

"I should've let Remy do what he came here for. Do something like this again and I'm out. But not before I deal with all of you, get it? I'm here to fight for the mutant cause, and because Magneto got me out of that mad house. I owe him that, even though he was the one to put me there in the first place."

"It was for your own good." Pietro said, trying to hold her arm but she shook it off.

"I'm big enough to know what's good for me, Pietro. And killing people for stupid money is not on my list. Consider yourselves warned." She snarled between gritted teeth. With one last disgusted look to both men, Wanda stormed out to her room, slamming the door behind her.

She sat on her bed holding the doll in her hands. Yes, she had agreed to kill people. It even made her satisfied to see leaders of mutant haters' groups begging for mercy, or those damn politicians trying to bribe them so they would survive. Yes, she laughed a few times seeing the despair in their faces. But killing children and other innocent people…that had never crossed her mind and she never imagined it would get this far. Wasn't it the exact same thing mutant haters did when they killed and tortured innocent mutants? Mutants that never had anything to do with terrorism or anything like that.

She had been there before… killing innocents. But it wasn't her choice. When her powers emerged, she got out of control. Wanda sighed when she remembered the awful things that happened whenever she got angry at someone back then. Magneto tried to help her control it in the beginning. He always referred to her as his pride, his powerful daughter. But when he realized her powers were uncontrollable and extremely dangerous to anyone near her, he didn't think twice before locking her in a mad house. Wanda laid down, the events of that day rushing through her mind….

'_The rain was getting heavier as her dad drove on the highway. He said they were going to a nice place. She just couldn't wait to get there even though she was a little upset her brother wasn't coming too. They usually did everything together._

"_Daddy?" She asked from the backseat._

"_Yes?" Erik didn't take his eyes off the road._

"_You seem angry. What happened?"_

_He didn't answer and a few minutes later she repeated the question._

"_Is it because of what happened yesterday? I told you it wasn't my fault. It just… happened." She completed._

"_It's never your fault, is it?" His voice was ice cold. "How many times have we tried to practice?"_

"_But dad…"_

"_You never tried for real, Wanda. You think it's nice what you do with your powers? You must think it's a good way to get what you want from people. That's why you never controlled it. You never wanted it under control."_

"_Dad, I've tried! I always try but…"_

"_That's enough of your excuses. I gave you the option of helping me, working side by side with your father. But you have been a selfish girl. It's not in my hands anymore, Wanda." At that moment, he stopped the car in front of an antique looking building, where a few people dressed in white were already waiting at the front door._

"_Where is this place?" She asked, her hands starting to shake._

_Erik left the car and opened her door. She could see the disappointment in his face, mixed with anger and a small hint of sadness._

"_Maybe they will help you more than I did. They will take care of you, and make sure you don't hurt any more people. Or yourself." He whispered, taking her hand and pulling her out of the car._

"_Who are they?" Now her hands were definitely shaking, and the lights of the street flickered._

"_Wanda, calm down. How many times have I told you to stay calm?" Erik looked preoccupied and waved at the nurses at the door._

"_I'm not staying here!" she tried to get into the car again but Erik closed the doors using his powers and locked them. "Dad!" The nurses held her and also asked her to calm down but it was too late. The lights on the street exploded and the windows of the psychiatric hospital and of the car broke violently, some of the glass striking her and the nurses. She tried to unlock the car through the broken window, cutting her hands on the remaining glass, tears blinding her. Erik held her by the shoulders and pulled her away from the car._

"_LET ME GO!" Suddenly the car was completely deformed and was set on fire._

"_Wanda, stop it!" Erik screamed. One of the nurses came running and injected something on her arm._

"_No… no." Wanda gave one last resentful look to her father, and then lost consciousness.'_

Wiping a lonely tear from her face, she tried to convince herself it was really for her own good. But the years locked alone, the electric treatment sessions… that just made her anger boil inside. She stood and walked around the room until she calmed down. Of course the past still infuriated her, but she couldn't ignore all the good things he had done to help her.

Magneto only showed up recently, saying he found someone who could help her control her powers: a woman named Agatha. The training was intense and it lasted for months, but it was worth it. Agatha was not only her teacher, but turned out to be her best friend. She was an old lady, rigid but with a kind heart, always willing to help and listen. Wanda learned how to control her feelings and also her powers. For that, she was really grateful to Agatha and, even if it was hard to admit at first, to her father. Her powers were driving her insane, and finally getting control instead of being a hostage of her own powers was a blessing.

Magneto was able to convince her to stay, fight by his side, as it should have been from the beginning. She wasn't very happy with that, but she had told him she would do anything in exchange of his help. He not only fulfilled his part of the agreement, but also let her stay there for as long as she wanted. Now, it was her turn to do as agreed, she thought, lowering her eyes.

* * *

**plzzzz reviews... they make my day! :D by the way, any ideas or suggestions are welcome. **

**Again, thanks to my beta ElvenMuggle, always doing a great job ;) **

**WARNING: So, I got chap 18 nearly ready, but as I started reading this fic again, i found out I'm not entirely happy with it, so I'm adding more things to the previous chapters. I think after writing 17 chapters, you start to become more critical about your story. Since I'm trying to improve at every chapter I write, I think it's reasonable that I improve the chapters I already wrote. I'm not changing the story or the plot, just adding new things, improving what's already there and making things deeper. This sudden decision may be because of a depression hitting me lol but at least I'm using it for a good thing. ;)**


	18. Under the streets and over the top

**Hey everyone! This took ages but it's finally done. I'm working all day and studying at night, so pleeeeease be patient with me. I'm also trying to learn russian and believe me, that takes a lot of time and mental energy lol **

**Reviews plzz**

* * *

Remy kept driving, his mind still somewhere else. He was just vaguely aware he was heading to the place indicated in the map he had picked at the Brotherhood. The chilly wind on his face was making him feel better, and the movement of the city, its lights and sound was nearly a relief. For a moment, he just felt like driving for days, escaping like he had done so many times before, and going back to his beloved New Orleans. There all his worries would be cheating at poker or flirting with a married woman. The warm, jazzy and sensual city would welcome him, and he wouldn't have to worry about anything else. Or maybe he would. Remy frowned when the sensation of being lost hit him. He knew even New Orleans wasn't the place for him anymore…he couldn't go back.

His Harley stopped in front of a dark alley between two abandoned buildings. Remy parked it and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to him. Then he went into the alley, removed the sewer's lid, and went inside. The smell wasn't pleasant at all, but there was something even more disgusting in there waiting for him.

"I thought you wouldn't come, Gambit." The cold voice welcomed him.

"Sinister! What are y' … oh." Suddenly, everything made perfect sense. The Brotherhood would never be able to dribble the X-Men alone. "Y' helped them." Remy nearly groaned at how stupid he had been. This should've been clear to him since the beginning.

"Yes. Did you really think they were that smart?" Sinister's laugh echoed on the dirty walls. "Erik wanted something discreet and clean but…what would be the fun in that? So I convinced the little boys that they needed to put some fire in their mission." His eyes scrutinized Remy's expression, a mix of rage and nausea. "How does it feel?"

"Why would y' do dat?" Remy approached him, gritting his teeth. "For fun? Y' killed because y' thought it woul' be fun?" His breath was unsteady.

"Oh, no. No, no, my dear Gambit. Not just for the fun. You see… I did it for you." Sinister's voice was calm and soft. Remy stopped on his tracks and his jaw dropped.

"W-what?" For some reason, Remy had a very bad feeling about what the cold scientist in front of him had just said. It was shocking that someone could grow even creepier as you got to know them.

"How can I put this in a simple way? Well, I wanted you to feel the sweet taste of death. I wanted you to know how it feels. Isn't it good?" He smiled sickly.

For a few seconds, it really seemed Remy was about to vomit. His face was pale, slightly greenish. He lost his balance and leaned on the dirty wall of the tunnel.

"Y' are sick." He whispered, feeling the energy pulsing inside him. All he wanted to do was to explode the monster grinning at him. "Y' are a sick murderer."

"I know! And what are you, Gambit?" That soft voice seemed to sting Remy. "Do you know what you are? Because right now, you also have blood on your hands. Indirectly, but you do." Since the trembling Cajun didn't answer, Sinister went on. "Don't be so dramatic about it. You had blood on your hands before, hadn't you? My suggestion is: enjoy. Enjoy…Death."

Remy's eyes focused on him. "What are y' saying?"

"A big event is coming, Gambit. And, if I were you, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side. And since I will be the only one with the resource to control it, I'll be the winning side."

"Cut it! Go straight t' the point. Tell me what it is."

"It's none of your business… for now. But you are valuable to me. So I'm preparing you." Sinister took a few steps towards Remy, who backed away. "When this world comes crashing down, you'll have all the riches you desire…if you stay by my side, of course." His voice sounded completely insane. "Stay by my side and the world will be ours."

There was a moment of deep silence, only broken by the sound of running water, until Remy found his voice. "Sinister…" he whispered, and the creature smiled. "Y' can go t' hell." Remy spat on the floor and walked to the exit.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sinister's voice hissed behind him.

"Away! I've had enough!" Remy screamed back.

The laugher that followed his statement froze him right in his tracks. He knew there was no escaping, ever.

"Away? You can't go away." Sinister said, as if he was talking to a child who had said something absurd and hilarious at the same time. "You belong to me." He pressed a device on his coat and the tunnels were suddenly filled with Remy's screams.

The wave of pain started on the back of his head and then spread to the rest of his body. Every single cell seemed to have electricity passing through them, burning his nerves. Remy fell to his knees, holding his head as if it was going to explode and screaming in complete agony. He tried to crawl away, but it was useless.

"Stop it…" He managed to say, collapsing completely on the floor.

"Beg." Sinister looked slightly amused with all that.

Remy tried to resist, hold back the tears and the screams, but the pain was too much. "I beg. Please… stop." He tried to breath, but it was getting harder. '_Kill me_' he thought and suddenly the pain was gone.

"You are mine." Sinister whispered, looking more serious than ever at the aching man at his feet.

"I know." Remy sobbed in defeat, covering his face with his hands. The frustration, the pain, the anger, it all took over him. "Just… promise y' won't hurt them. Promise y'…" Another wave of pain washed over him and the screams echoed on the walls once more.

"Why are you so eager to protect them?" An intrigued Sinister asked, absently stroking his chin.

"Promise!" Remy groaned, defiantly glaring at him. '_Y' woul' never understand, y' monster._'

"You should know better than anyone that you only need to steal that diamond when the time comes. Nothing else. If everything goes as planned, there's no reason for anyone to get hurt. But if you insist, I promise not to touch or harm the X-Men. Will you do as planned, Gambit?"

"Oui." Even though the answer came out weak and shaky, it was filled with confidence. Remy sighed in relief when the torture stopped, all his body trembling, sweat and tears streaming down his face. It took a while for him to find enough strength to regain his composure and when he did, Sinister was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

The sack of money lay on the end of a tunnel, on a dry place. Remy checked to see if there were any tricks but it was clear. He put it on his back and found his way out of the place. Every note of dollar seemed to weigh like a rock, making Remy glad to drop the bag at the alley as soon as he reached the surface. He definitely didn't want that money or anything that came from it either so he just left the sack next to a garbage can. It looked harmless and innocent, but Remy could feel all the bad things related to that money. All the mess it caused.

Getting onto his Harley, he drove to the closest store and bought a mobile phone. After calling the police and indicating the location of the missing money, he disposed that mobile and bought a new one. It would be amazing if every problem could be that easy to get rid of. With a last look around and a sigh, he drove off, knowing exactly where he wanted to be.

* * *

Rogue turned on her bed for the tenth time and grunted. She had woken up from a nightmare about the bank robbery earlier and since then she couldn't get back to sleep. She turned again, trying to focus on Jubilee's snoring when something awakened her senses again and her body tensed. Steps. Footsteps right above her head. _'Ah'm not dreaming.'_ Rogue furrowed her brows in the dark, and turned to the balcony this time, lying quietly on her bed, waiting for a movement outside. She didn't have to wait for long: in a matter of seconds, someone landed softly on the balcony. The figure stopped for a second and peeked inside from behind the glass. Rogue was stiff on her bed, eyes nearly closed, but paying attention to every movement of the person outside. The door clicked open and the tall person got inside as silently as a shadow, then turned to close the door once more. It was her chance. Rogue jumped out of bed so fast she took a mental note to thank Logan for his training, and tried to tackle the person down.

"Gotcha!" she whispered energetically. But, as soon as she touched his covered arm, he turned around much faster than her, swept her out of her feet and landed on top of her, immobilizing her and covering her mouth with a gloved hand. Rogue was about to scream when she recognized the person over her. His hair fell over her face like curtains and all she could see was his handsome face. His red on black eyes were wide and he had one finger over his lips, asking her not to make any sound.

"Rogue?" Jubilee's muffled sleepy voice came from the other side of the room. Remy removed his hand from over Rogue's mouth, still pleading with his eyes she wouldn't scream or say anything to Jubilee.

"It was just a nightmare, Jubs. Go back to sleep." The Asian girl didn't need to be told twice, and in a matter of seconds she started snoring again.

The two southerners stayed like that for a little longer, staring at each other, until Rogue finally remembered what had just happened. Remy could clearly feel the change in her mood as she fought to get out from under him. He stood and offered his hand but she slapped it, standing up by herself, then grabbing him by his trench coat collar and dragging him to the balcony as silently as she could. The last thing she needed was Jubilee waking up and finding Remy in their room.

"Are ya trying to give meh a freaking heart attack, swamp rat? What is wrong with ya?" It took a huge effort on her part not to scream at him and talk quietly instead. "Why were ya sneaking into mah room?"

"Pardon chérie, I thought y' woul' be sleepin'." He answered, a hint of embarrassment on his voice and face, catching Rogue off guard though not making her any less annoyed at him.

"Are ya telling meh ya were going ta sneak into mah room while Ah was sleeping?" She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him dangerously. Her urge to scream at him was now nearly unbearable, making her accent thicker. 'Damn.' Remy mentally slapped himself on the forehead. He thought she couldn't get any angrier until her face started getting purple in the dark. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth started to gape and Remy was scared, very scared of what was about to come. "Remy LeBeau…" he could barely hear what she was saying, and it was far more threatening than if she had been screaming. "Please tell me the damn nightmares Ah've been having of footsteps on mah roof, moving shadows and whispers in _mah _room are just nightmares and have nothing ta do with ya." Remy looked just like a kid that had been caught with his hand on the cookie jar and, as cute as it may have looked, it didn't make Rogue any less willing to strangle him.

'_Merde. Merde, merde, merde._' For a moment, he seriously considered jumping from that balcony and running to the woods, but he knew he couldn't move fast enough to escape Rogue's rage. Right now, he didn't dare to move, or take his eyes off her. Even when he had gotten face to face with an alligator years ago he had felt more optimistic about it. "Chérie…"

"Don't ya _chérie_ me, swamp rat! What were ya doing in mah room?"

He knew making up an excuse was out of question, and he didn't want to do that anyways. He was sick and tired of lying and making up stories. But telling the truth was a bit ('_very_') embarrassing, he had to admit. Remy ran a hand through his hair and looked into her eyes for a while until enough courage built up inside for him to answer honestly.

"I was havin' nightmares tonight as well, chérie. Couldn't sleep so I decided t' drop by." It didn't sound as good as he wanted, but it was honest… '_Ok, half honest._' However, Rogue looked confused for a moment then furrowed her brows. He had nearly forgotten how beautiful she looked when she did that.

"Remy, Ah know everyone is kind of shocked about what happened, including mahself. But this ain't the first time Ah hear these steps and all those weird things happen in mah dreams. So ya better find a better excuse or Ah'll drop ya off this balcony and ya can drop by the Medical wing to visit Hank." As she spoke, she crossed her arms over her chest and Remy surprisingly felt a smirk trying to break through his lips, just in time to hold it back and put on his guilty face again. '_What's going on with you, Remy LeBeau?_' he thought.

Unfortunately, Rogue saw the brief change in his expression and took it the wrong way. "Swamp rat, Ah'm serious! Ya can't sneak into people's room lahke this, scare the hell outta them and think it's funny!" Her voice raised as her anger boiled inside. '_That stupid smirk just makes meh want to strangle him. Can't he take anything seriously?_'

Remy realized how close she was of losing her temper and rushed to put a hand on her mouth again. "Shhh… Rogue. Rogue!" he held her firmly against the balcony, using his own body to restrain her moves so she would stop struggling. "Desolé, chérie. I didn't mean t' sneak…" as he saw the look on her face, he sighed. "Ok, I meant t' sneak. BUT…" he added when she tried to push him, and pressed her harder against the balcony. "I wasn't lyin' when I told y' 'bout the nightmares." He felt her trying to move her lips in protest under his hand so he lowered his head to the same level as hers, looking straight into her eyes. She flinched to the sudden closeness of their faces but Remy ignored, or tried to ignore it. "Jus' listen. Y' were right, ok? I did come here every night… an' I did come because o' my nightmares. I'm sorry if I ended up givin' y' nightmares as well. I just couldn't stay in my room all night so…" He stopped abruptly, thinking that giving her more information would be way beyond embarrassing for a man like him. It would be humiliating. Anyways, it wasn't needed to go on. Rogue had stopped struggling and looked intensely into his eyes, but it wasn't anger flickering inside her own eyes. It was compassion. Her hand softly removed his from over her mouth, but she didn't let it go.

"Remy… are ya telling me ya have these nightmares every night?" Her voice made him wonder how such sweetness and such toughness could coexist in the same person. There was the sphinx in front of him again. "Remy?"

"Oui… whenever I close my eyes, t' be more precise." He whispered, looking away.

"Sugah, Ah swore Ah wouldn't do this and make ya feel Ah'm pushing ya but... do ya wanna talk about it? Ah mean, if it's ok with ya. Ah'm not trying to force ya or anything, and Ah'm sorry if it did sound lahke that. It's just that if ya are feeling bad about something… not that it's any of mah business, but…"

"Jubilee, breath." Remy mocked without looking at her. Rogue chuckled and he closed his eyes to that sound. It was refreshing. He turned his face to her and smiled. "I'd be glad t' talk t' y', Rogue." It was just then that he took in the fact he was still pressing his body against hers. Not that it felt bad… '_Not at all_.' he thought. Rogue, on the other side, seemed to be getting uncomfortable, so he pulled back, giving her some space. His empathy caught a wave of relief coming from her, and he turned so she wouldn't see him frowning.

"Just give meh a second. Ah'll get mah coat and mah gloves." She went inside as silently as she could, dressed her gloves and then her coat, put her shoes on then went back outside. Remy had lit a cigarette and was leaning on the balcony, waiting for her. Rogue couldn't help but sigh inside at how handsome he was looking. She always liked when he had that messy look, his rebel hair falling over his face, yet not covering his smoldering eyes, the way he leaned on the balcony, apparently weightless, the cigarette dangling from his lips, a thin smoke escaping from them. The only thing getting on her nerves was the smell of the cigarette, which always made her feel like sneezing. She tried to snatch it from him but he just dodged her move, chuckling. "Ya know Ah hate that smell. Throw it away!"

Still chuckling, Remy threw it away then bowed to her, playfully. "Y' knew y' just had t' ask nicely. Shall we?" He asked, nodding to the roof.

"Yep."

He climbed first, with the elegance and agility of a cat, not making any sound, then offered his hand to her. Rogue just ignored it and climbed by herself, not as gracefully or silently, but she dared him to say anything with a glare. They walked to the higher part of the roof, and sat next to Ororo's greenhouse glass window on the attic. Rogue had never been on the roof before, and gasped when she saw how beautiful the gardens looked from there, under the moonlight, with the woods on the back. It looked like a painting. Everything was quiet, except from the rumors of the tree branches shaking to the chilly wind.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Remy whispered, looking at the moon over them.

"Very. Now Ah understand why ya didn't stay in yer room."

"But I didn't leave my room t' come here, chérie." He turned to look at her, a significant look in his eyes. Rogue blushed but thankfully her hair was covering her face.

"Why did ya go to mah room? Ah mean, why didn't ya just wake meh up so we could talk?"

Remy wasn't sure of what to answer, but again, it was him who had opened that breach. "Y' looked so peaceful sleepin'… I'd feel guilty if I disturbed dat. And also, watching y' sleep made me feel peaceful as well." There was a slight hint of embarrassment in his voice again when he said that.

The blush was back on her face and she played with a lock of her hair, trying to control her heartbeat, looking more embarrassed than him.

"But y' weren't always dat peaceful, ma belle. And most o' the times, it wasn't because o' my presence." His tone was suddenly concerned and she looked away. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Many times, she would have strange dreams about Bobby. They were still together, but then he would start complaining about their lack of physical contact. So she would kiss him, just to find out she couldn't let go. His now red on black eyes would get wide with despair, trying to break the contact. Rogue wasn't sure who she was kissing anymore. She tried pushing him away but couldn't… it was like they were glued to each other. Then he would turn into Cody, and slap her face, making her fall. He screamed at her for ruining his life with her poison skin. Rogue would try to run away but he would come after her and grab her uncovered arm. This time it was him who kept holding on to her, saying it was her turn to know how it felt to be drained, and she realized he was the one draining her life force. Whispers started to fill her head, demanding she would open her eyes and then she would wake up with tears streaming down her face, struggling with her sheets.

"The whispers… it was you?" She turned to look at him, finally connecting the pieces.

He nodded. "When y' started moanin' names and cryin', I would tell y' it was just a nightmare and ask y' t' wake up. The problem is dat sometimes y' would get even worse when I talked t' y'."

"Maybe Ah thought it was their voices in mah head… ya know, lahke the other psyches." She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. "Thanks for waking meh up, sugah."

"No need t' thank me. But feel free t' talk 'bout it, if y' want." He knew the psyches were a real issue for her, but perhaps she needed to face her demons to be able to overcome them. Would she be ready?

"We came here to talk about you, Rem." Maybe she wasn't. "So, what are yer nightmares about? It must be something serious, if ya have them every night, right?"

"Oui. It's 'bout some parts o' my life I'd rather forget 'bout. The problem is dat I can't." He shifted uncomfortably where he was sitting.

"That's not very unusual around here."

"Guess not. The problem is dat my nightmares are directly proportional t' the mistakes I've made in my life." His face was half covered in shadows, his gaze lost somewhere in the woods.

"Is it that bad, Remy?"

"Worse. Much worse, ma belle. I thought doin' the wrong things for the right reasons wasn't a big deal. Turns out it was." For him, it ended up being a deal with the devil. "But it's just…" he sighed hard, shaking his head. "Y' just can't imagine, Rogue." He then stared at his opened hands on his lap and reflected about what he was going to say. "Actually, y' can."

Rogue moved a little closer to him, encouraging him to go on with her eyes.

"Well, my powers kicked in when I was still a kid. But they only developed for real when I became a teenager. Dat's when the trouble started. I couldn't control it at all. Everythin' I touched blew up, and it got t' the point where I couldn't even stare at somethin' for long without making it explode. I had t' keep my eyes closed all the time, and my hands away from anythin'. I nearly went crazy at dat time, Rogue."

"And Ah thought mah mutation was bad! How did ya control it?"

"I got…help. Or what I considered t' be help, at the time. Believe me, chérie… if I could go back in time and undo dat, I would."

"Why?"

"Let's say not everyone is as good intentioned as Professor Xavier. You are really lucky ya have met the right people. I wish I've had the same chance y' are havin' here. Ya' got friends, people y' can trust, who support y'. Even if y' don't control it yet, dis is a good way to start learning how to. The world out dere ain't no playground, chérie. I had t' learn it the tough way."

"Did they abuse ya?" Remy had to hold back laughter at her question.

"That's a cute way to put it." He hesitated for a second, running a hand through his hair. "I was experimented on, Rogue." He heard her gasp for air next to him.

"Sugah… Ah don't know what to say." Rogue sat there staring at him, wondering how someone who had gone through so much could be as nonchalant, funny, and easygoing as he usually was. She could feel a growing respect for the man sitting in front of her. She also started feeling bad about all the times she complained about her powers and her life in front of him. It now seemed so…whiny of her.

"Don't! Just because things were hard for me, doesn't mean they are easy for y'." He raised her chin with a finger, a severe expression on his face.

"How do ya know what Ah was thinking? Are ya a telepath too?" She asked, with wide eyes.

"I don't know what y' were thinking, just what you're feelin'." Rogue looked more confused than before so he explained. "I'm an empath. Means I'm like an anthem to other people's emotions. Most o' the time I try t' disconnect, though. But if the emotions are too strong, it's hard t' block it. And right now, y' were feelin' really guilty and ashamed 'bout somethin'. And from y'r reaction, I got it right."

"Do ya always keep everything bottled up inside?"

"Don't we all?" He grinned and took a deck of cards of his pocket, then started shuffling it. Rogue lay down on the roof, her hands behind her head, contemplating the moon.

"Ah'm glad ya found us. At least now ya can have some peace, right?" He didn't answer but she took that as a positive sign. "Not that the Institute is the most peaceful place on Earth but… people here are nice. We are all looking for the same things. Control, redemption, comprehension, friends. Ya can start all over, sugah."

Remy lay next to her, putting the cards back in his pocket. "Do y' think so?"

"Ah'm sure. No matter how bad things were for ya before, Remy, they won't cause ya any more harm. Ya got friends now. People ya can trust and who support ya." She lay on her side, looking at him and smiled. Remy smiled too, secretly hoping everything she said was true. '_But they can't trust me, that's the fact._' He thought. His face must have trespassed some of his apprehension because she poked him on the chest and completed, in a serious-funny tone. "If anything comes back to haunt ya, Ah'll protect ya."

Remy just stared at her fondly in reply, taking in every detail of her face, and promised himself he would protect her as well if anything tried to harm her. He then did something neither of them expected, making Rogue freeze. He pulled her close, holding her next to his chest.

"Remy…" She half-heartedly protested but he shushed her. Remy wasn't sure of what he was doing or even why he did that in the first place. It was completely spontaneous and it made him realize how often being around her made him do spontaneous stuff, even if later they seemed a bit senseless and stupid.

"Does it make y' uncomfortable?" He whispered.

"Yes." She answered immediately.

"Rogue, I'm an empath, remember?" He said with a grin, caressing her head, tangling his fingers on her hair.

"And I thought ya kept it shut down." Her voice came out a little shaky, a consequence of the butterflies filling her stomach.

"I do, but…" he paused and she completed the sentence mentally, blushing furiously. "Chérie, please. I just need somethin' t' hold on t' right now. A friend."

"Rem, ya know close contact…" she started but he cut her off.

"Rogue, I'm all covered. And I'm not afraid of you, you know dat. I'm not worried, y' shouldn't be either."

Rogue resigned and sighed, surprised to feel a smile building on her face. She always wished people wouldn't hesitate in getting close to her, and here she was complaining about a hug. _'Rogue, ya need a psychiatrist.' _She thought, closing her eyes. "Thanks, sugah."

"Y' keep thankin' me for not being afraid of you and I'll get really mad at ya'." She chuckled and he rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, Rogue."

"Remy LeBeau is talking serious? That's amazing. Should Ah record it?" She looked up, trying to get a look at his face. He sighed and gave her a glare. "See how good it feels when ya try to talk serious and someone makes fun of it?"

"Lesson learnt, mission accomplished." He stared at the stars above him, wondering what in the world made the girl in his arms so convinced people were scared of her. He just couldn't imagine how someone could not want to get closer to her.

"Remy?"

"Hmm?" He responded without moving his eyes from a shiny star right above his head.

"Ah got an idea to lift that mood of yours. Ya see, there are a couple of coupons in mah room that Ah won at a party. Wonder if ya would lahke to have the other one so we could check that restaurant out."

Remy stopped for a moment, in shock at what she had just said. "Chérie, are y' askin' me out on a date?" He lifted his head slightly and looked down at her, meeting her green eyes staring back at him.

"Maybe." '_What? No!_' She thought desperately. How did that _maybe_ come out of her mouth? "A friend's date…meeting!" She tried to fix, only getting a quirked eyebrow in return.

"Ok… This makes no sense, chérie." He teased her, knowing how embarrassed she was getting.

"Do ya want to go or not?" She asked defensively.

"Alright, alright." He lifted his hands. "When do y' want t' go?"

"Friday night. It's not as full as on Saturday."

"Sounds great t' me. Will y' wear y'r costume?"

"Shut up." She groaned. After that, they stayed in silence for a while, looking at the stars, even though not completely focused on that. Remy was the first one to break the silence with a sonorous yawn.

"That's contagious." Rogue tried to say, yawning as well.

"Mind if I close my eyes for a few minutes?" He asked, feeling his eyelids heavy.

"If it's just a few minutes, then go on."

"Just ten minutes. If I don't wake up, feel free to tickle me awake." He yawned again and closed his eyes, one hand still on her head and the other around her.

"Sounds fair." She replied, struggling to keep her own eyes open but failing miserably after the first three minutes. The slow rise and fall of his chest, his heartbeat, the warmth of his body, the soft chilly breeze caressing her face, and her own sleepiness, were all conspiring against her. She drifted to sleep without even noticing it, and her dreams mixed with reality in the best dreams she'd had lately. Remy, on the other side, didn't dream at all, but it was the best sleep he had in years.

Meanwhile, someone moved behind the greenhouse glass, a smile on the face. The person stayed there for a few minutes, covered by the flowers and plants, then turned and left silently.

* * *

The sound of birds and the sun in the horizon indicated it was still early in the morning when Rogue opened her eyes. Her face felt cold but she was well covered with her coat and a trenchcoat. She closed her eyes again and breathed in the sweet smell coming from the trench coat, that mix of scents that always blurred her senses. 'Remy…' And then everything came back to her mind.

"Remy!" she sat and looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen, which was good because right now she was having a very hard time fighting the butterflies flying around her stomach. '_Did I sleep…in his arms? Oh my…_' Just thinking about it was…Ok, she would bother about it later, or maybe she would try to never think of it again. '_But ya liked it and ya know it._' Her conscience whispered at the same time she shook her head. '_It's ok, that's what friends do. Talk, hang out… sleep in each other's arms?_' Rogue slapped her forehead and groaned.

"Ok, never mind. Act normal when ya see him, lahke it was no big deal. And it wasn't a big deal!" She stood, grabbed Remy's trench coat and carefully walked to the roof's edge right above her room.

Rogue sat and threw her legs over the edge, suddenly kicking a basket that was put there in the exact same second. She heard someone curse then gasp, and she looked down to see Remy, perched on her balcony border, one hand firmly grasping a roof tile and the other holding onto the basket she had just kicked.

"Whoa! Careful chérie. It took me some skill to bring this up here without gettin' caught." He regained his balance, left the basket on the roof, and then climbed after it.

"What's that?" Rogue asked, trying to avoid direct eye contact and peep into the basket, but he took it from her hands and walked to the place they had sat the night before.

"Come." It was all he said until they sat down. She kept her eyes lowered, not really sure of how she should act when she faced him.

"What's this about, swamp rat?"

"This…" he took a towel from the basket, put it on the roof, and started putting plates over it. "…Is a picnic on the roof." He winked at her and continued to distribute the food on the plates.

"Ah got that, Remy. What Ah meant is why." At least, he wasn't making any embarrassing comments. She finally looked into his eyes but there wasn't that perverted brightness behind them. She sighed mentally. '_So everything is normal._'

"Hmm, let's say I know how hungry a night on the roof can get ya'. And also…" He gave her that million dollar smile. "To thank y' for not throwing me off the balcony last night, ma belle." He then got unusually focused on pouring juice into her glass, staying silent for a few seconds. Rogue knew he always did that when trying to find the right words to say something important, without making it seem _that_ important. "I just wanted to thank y' for listenin' t' me, Rogue. Dat's a feat, believe me." He chuckled but it didn't sound very natural to her. She had to admit that for someone who was said to be so good at poker, he was getting a little weak at pretending. She wasn't telling him that, though.

Rogue just smiled then shrugged. "If people get to know you make them a picnic whenever they pay attention to what you say, they'll start to actually bother listening to you, swamp rat." She laughed when she saw the expression on his face.

"Chérie, dat's mean. I got feelings!"

"Incredible as it may seem."

He gave her a lopsided grin then handled her a plate.

"Very funny. So y' are a mornin' person, eh?"

"Not really. But waking up to a picnic makes anyone's mood brighter, dontcha think?" Little by little, her confidence returned. She thought that lowering her defenses to him would either make him back away frightened or make her feel threatened. That clearly wasn't happening and it was really surprising.

"Mais pardon then chérie, next time I'll have t' bring Wolvie here instead o' y'."

"Ah think you would need dozens of picnics to brighten his mood on a Monday morning. Though Ah think a pack of beers would do."

"Nice to know. Dat always makes my mornings happy too." Rogue rolled her eyes and he snorted. "I'm just kiddin' chérie… or maybe not." He rested his back against the greenhouse glass and took a bite from his sandwich.

* * *

**R&R plzzz**


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